anklet
- Museum number
- Af1947,08.2
- Description
-
Register 1947:
Brass anklet, woman's large. Cylindrical form with disk soldered on halfway up; penannular, geometrical engraved decoration recalling basketry or textile; medallions.
- Production date
- 20thC
- Dimensions
-
Height: 13.40 centimetres
-
Width: 35.50 centimetres
-
Depth: 34.20 centimetres
- Curator's comments
-
Accompanies Af1947,08.2 (pair of).
Register 1947:
Similar to Af1947,08.1, forming pair.
IBO tribe, NIGERIA. See Basden p. 91 & pl opp p.112. [OGRUGRU district]
-
In parts of West Africa, anklets made from brass, or solid ivory cut from the cross-section of a tusk, formed part of a woman's dowry and were symbols of high status.
These heavy and cumbersome brass anklets, ogba, were worn in pairs by Igbo women of wealthy families. They were hammered into shape and then fitted by specialist itinerant smiths. The anklets were considered prestigious on account of the costly material from which they were made, and because women who wore them were unable to undertake normal domestic duties. A woman wearing ogba increased her own social status and that of her husband and father.
A. Fisher, Africa adorned (London, Collins, 1984)
J. Perani and F.T. Smith, The visual arts of Africa: gen (Prentic Hall, New Jersey, 1998)
- Location
- Not on display
- Acquisition date
- 1947
- Department
- Africa, Oceania and the Americas
- Registration number
- Af1947,08.2
