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Currency
Chamba
mid 20th century
Object Place: Nigeria
Medium/Technique
Iron
Dimensions
Overall: 36.8 x 2.5 x 29.2 cm (14 1/2 x 1 x 11 1/2 in.)
Credit Line
Anonymous gift
Accession Number2009.5349
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsContemporary Art, Africa and Oceania
ClassificationsNumismatics
This type of currency is now known as snake currency, and was used by the Chamba peoples of Nigeria. It was probably used in major transactions such as a groom paying bridewealth to the family of his bride. Iron currency occured in many regions throughout Africa. Expert smiths could melt and forge it into different tools that were necessary in day to day life, making it a preferred and useful standard of value.
ProvenanceBetween the 1980s and 1990s, acquired in Paris by anonymous donors; 2009, anonymous gift to the MFA. (Accession Date: January 20, 2010)