19th Century Cast Bronze Manilla Trade Bracelet
$60.00
This item is a bronze manilla. Age is uncertain, but likely made in the 1800's. Manillas are a form of commodity money, usually made of bronze or copper, which were used in West Africa. They were produced in large numbers in a wide range of designs, sizes, and weights. Originating before the colonial period, perhaps as the result of trade with the Portuguese Empire, Manillas continued to serve as money and decorative objects until the late 1940s and are still sometimes used as decoration. In popular culture, they are particularly associated with the Atlantic slave trade.
Bracelet is solid metal and extremely heavy. Construction is a single cast metal cuff. There are no hinges and it is inflexible. Bracelet has some patina.
Check out some of my other antiques here:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/neurorocker?section_id=6783279
Pounce on this terrific piece or just browse around the shop!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/neurorocker
This item is a bronze manilla. Age is uncertain, but likely made in the 1800's. Manillas are a form of commodity money, usually made of bronze or copper, which were used in West Africa. They were produced in large numbers in a wide range of designs, sizes, and weights. Originating before the colonial period, perhaps as the result of trade with the Portuguese Empire, Manillas continued to serve as money and decorative objects until the late 1940s and are still sometimes used as decoration. In popular culture, they are particularly associated with the Atlantic slave trade.
Bracelet is solid metal and extremely heavy. Construction is a single cast metal cuff. There are no hinges and it is inflexible. Bracelet has some patina.
Check out some of my other antiques here:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/neurorocker?section_id=6783279
Pounce on this terrific piece or just browse around the shop!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/neurorocker
This item is a bronze manilla. Age is uncertain, but likely made in the 1800's. Manillas are a form of commodity money, usually made of bronze or copper, which were used in West Africa. They were produced in large numbers in a wide range of designs, sizes, and weights. Originating before the colonial period, perhaps as the result of trade with the Portuguese Empire, Manillas continued to serve as money and decorative objects until the late 1940s and are still sometimes used as decoration. In popular culture, they are particularly associated with the Atlantic slave trade.
Bracelet is solid metal and extremely heavy. Construction is a single cast metal cuff. There are no hinges and it is inflexible. Bracelet has some patina.
Check out some of my other antiques here:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/neurorocker?section_id=6783279
Pounce on this terrific piece or just browse around the shop!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/neurorocker