AFRICA Pair of elaborate wrought iron African shackles with

Sale 2377 - Lot 10

Price Realized: $ 1,430

?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price

Estimate: $ 2,000 - $ 3,000

AFRICA. Pair of elaborate wrought iron African shackles, with the original locking device attached. Lacks the "key", or means of unlocking. Very elaborately made, with incised designs on all parts, 23 inches long consisting of two piece cuff-like section at one end and another cuff with an integral "lock", both 3-1/4 inches in diameter; the latter with two bands of appliquéd bronze; both cuffs connected by three very heavy, and elaborately incised links; all portions of this pair of shackles bear designs that are consistent with West African graphic signs and symbols; all surfaces with fine, smooth, old patina. West Africa circa 18th to 19th century

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Additional Details

an unusually elaborate and heavy pair of African shackles, bearing incised designs that are consistent with those illustrated in Faik-Nzuji's exhaustive study, "Tracing Memory: A Glossary of Graphic Designs and Symbols in West African Art and Culture" (Canadian Museum of Civilization, 1996). A repeated design, not unlike the symbol for "bond," "imprisonment" or "handcuffs" appears on this pair of shackles.