Digital Collections | AMNH - Double bell, iron, plant fiber, and wood, Mangbetu people of Africa

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American Museum Congo Expedition (1909-1915)

Asset ID ptc-3960

Title Double bell, iron, plant fiber, and wood, Mangbetu people of Africa

Description The double iron bell, used in the court orchestra, is one of the most important symbols of chieftaincy. Its fabrication and use were meshed with ritual, and blacksmiths prepared the bell in the forest under strict secrecy. Oral tradition tells that before the time of Belgian rule, a person was sacrificed, the completed bell was filled with human blood, and parts of the victim were eaten by the blacksmiths. Looking into the bells was prohibited; doing so was thought to cause death. This double bell was collected from Chief Senze.
Materials: Wood, cord, metal (iron), coating.

Agent (Role) Gardiner, Lynton (Photographer), Lang, Herbert, 1879-1957 (Collector)

Date 1913 (collected), 1990 (photographed)

Artwork/Object Type Musical instruments

Physical dimensions L:60.2 W:45.3 H:9.8 (in CM)

City Town Rungu

Country Democratic Republic of the Congo

Is Part Of African reflections : art from northeastern Zaire, Division of Anthropology, African Ethnographic Collection

Collection/Work Relation AMNH Special Collections, Photographic Transparency Collection, 4 x 5: 3960

Department Catalog Number(s) 90.1/5130 A

Rights statement Information on rights available at the repository.

Repository American Museum of Natural History

Publication History Schildkrout, Enid, Curtis A Keim, Curtis A Keim, American Museum of Natural History, and American Museum of Natural History. 1990. African Reflections : Art from Northeastern Zaire. Seattle: University of Washington Press, p. 158.

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