Antique African Currency – Ngelima / Mbole – DR Congo – Former Roberto Ballarini Collection

The piece measures cm. 19,7 wide × cm. 11,7 high × cm. 8,3 deep (7.76″ × 4.61″ × 3.27″). Weight: grams 4326 (9.54 lb).

Copper alloy ingot, curved and modeled with faceted planes on the outer surface. It originates from the Aruvimi lowlands and the Lomami region. Used as a form of currency and barter, such ingots were also frequently melted down to produce other objects.

For comparable examples, see:
– The Perfect Form, Roberto Ballarini, pp. 328 and 356.
– African Currency, Adolfo Bartolomucci, p. 108.

m14