YORUBA, NIGERIA

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Copper was a rare and highly prized commodity in Africa, attained either through trade with Europe or from select areas on the continent, such as Morocco to the north and Katanga in the Congo. When European ships began arriving along the west coast of Africa during the sixteenth century and later, they carried brass manillas, bracelet-shaped weights in different sizes that served as a medium of exchange. The Yoruba melted these down, separating the copper and zinc, and recast the copper into similar but much larger objects called torques. The Ogboni society of the Yoruba also created important ritual objects from the metal extracted from manillas.

Owning torques reflected considerable wealth, and flaunting them was a conspicuous display of social prestige. Though some were worn as necklaces by women, others were used according to their size, from small currency objects to large ceremonial pieces.

Considering its size, this stunning torque was possibly given as a wedding dowry, and the standing of the owning family was reflected in the weight and symmetry of the piece. An elegant power resonates in its heavy, flexed arc, the girth of which terminates in mirrored, delicate points that emerge from flat disks, barely touching at their tips, expressing great balance, control, and restraint.