Large African Gan Burkina Faso Bronze Snake Bracelet, Currency - $325 - (Santa Fe, NM)

Large, bronze bracelet/leg ornament, or currency item, by the Gan peoples of Burkina Faso. Weight:1 lb.13 oz; 6” H’; 5” D. Looks like it has been used/worn from the shiny areas on the surface/edges of a darker patina. A very good research article I found explains as follows:"Throughout many African countries, snakes have historically posed a great threat to humans. Lurking in the bush or under fallen logs, slithering unseen through the long grass, snakes have provided startling, instantaneous, and in many cases fatal experiences. Yet, despite the dangers of living among these animals, many tribes in Burkina Faso have seen snakes as sacred. Killing or eating them was forbidden, while the shedding of their skin was a symbol of rebirth. The animals were more than a symbol; to some they were mediators between this world and the next. In particular, the Lobi and Gan people incorporated the snake motif into much of their brass and copper atworks, which served as decoration, protective amulets and adornment, shrine ornaments, and metal currencies". While the Lobi often wore flat renditons of snakes on their legs for protection in the fields, their sub-group, the Gan people, featured the creature in an array of metals works such as armbands, bracelets and amulets, as well as for currency. “However their ornaments were more like-like, stylized representations, sometimes they appeared with multiple heads arguably an abstract element. The Gan used these adornments as protectors of housholds against evil. Warriors also wore them for protection in battle. The snake's great strength, speed and fearlessness made it a divine symbol. The Gan envisioned it coiling tightly around the earth to keep it from falling apart.” A similar image as this one was shown in the article, with this one having slightly more decoration on the band. _gsrx_vers_851 (GS 7.0.17b2 (851))

Posted in Santa Fe, NM, Jewelry
From ebay.com - 1 month ago