Prestigious axe with arched blade featuring five protrusions - Lot 196

Prestigious axe with arched blade featuring five protrusions delimited in the center by several heads in relief. Some of the protrusions are twisted. Copper-coated wood, wrought iron. Songye, Sapo Sapo, Democratic Republic of Congo, 19th century. Height : An emblematic object of power among the Songye Sapo Sapo, this prestigious axe combines a symbolic form with materials that were rare in the 19th century. Copper and wrought iron, both imported through trade networks, were signs of wealth and control over resources. Their abundant use gave the object an ostentatious value. The embossed heads reinforce its function as an embodiment of personal or ancestral power, asserting the authority of the holder in a ritual or political context. The formal complexity and material density of this axe underline its use reserved for the elite.