Cult hatchet, ca. 1920-1940 ·  D. R. Congo, Songye · ID: 3041213

Description

copper, copper sheet, elaborate blade with six drillings, punched ornaments and raised human face at each side, min. dam., slight traces of abrasion;
copper is tough and maleable but in a critical temperature zone during heating it is difficult to work with, and gives no signs of being near burning. For this reason the copper hatchets represent technical masterpieces which no European blacksmith would light-heartedly try to imitate.

The object Cult hatchet, ca. 1920-1940 with the object ID 3041213 was last part of the auction 84th Tribal Art Auction at November 5, 2016 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 470 achieved a sales price of EUR 500.

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Comparing literature

Fischer, Werner & Manfred A. Zirngibl, Afrikanische Waffen, Passau 1978, p. 166, ill. 301