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Bell, Metal

Ogboni Bell with Blade Finial

Nigeria
Yoruba

Bronze
Pre-1900's

Height 15cm, Width 7cm
Idiophone - Struck Directly

This Ogboni Bell was used in rituals, possibly to make connections with their ancestors. Ethnomusicologists believe that bells with a sword or knife handle, have a different function than bells with figural handles. This bell is closely related to a published example in "Der Ogboni-Geheimbund, by Dr. Th.A.H.M.Dobblemann, (1976), which suggests this may be by the same artist.

 

Owner:
Catalog#: AF-IDST-55-4

"Der Ogboni-Geheimbund" by Dr. Th.A.H.M. Dobbelmann, 1976 (pg 138)