Primitive Money Form (1) - Iron - liganda - ngbele - Lomani and Lualaba - DR Congo

This is a particularly elegant and graceful object, a means of payment called Liganda or Ngbele. It's a huge spearhead , a usury form of spear currency. In ca. 1920, this object was still in use around the Stanley Waterfalls. The Liganda was mainly used for paying the dowry and for the purchase of canoes and slaves. These objects were forged out of thin soft iron. They show a decoration that runs in parallel lanes from the top to the bottom, and their money character is evidenced by the very weak short shaft. For 30 ligandas one bought a male slave and for 30 to 50 a female slave. This is a very rare object that reaches high figures when selling in galleries. Because of its length this object will be sent via GLS in Europe. THERE MAY BE A SMALL INCREASE IN SHIPPING COSTS, which must be settled separately. We’re talking about max 10 euros here. For shipments OUTSIDE EUROPE, A QUOTE MUST BE REQUESTED VIA DHL, FEDEX OR ANOTHER CARRIER.