A Very Fine and Rare Mangbetu Sape

  • Very Fine and Rare Mangbetu Sape

  • Very Fine and Rare Mangbetu Sape

  • Very Fine and Rare Mangbetu Sape

  • Very Fine and Rare Mangbetu Sape

  • Very Fine and Rare Mangbetu Sape

  • Very Fine and Rare Mangbetu Sape

A Very Fine and Rare Mangbetu Sape
Mangbetu
Orientale Province, Belgian Congo (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Early 20th century
Steel, elephant ivory
Blade: 15,2cm
Hilt & Blade: 21cm
Hilt, Blade, Sheath: -cm
Collection Date: 2022

Ex. Auctions Imperial: Chatsworth, California, USA (2022)
Ex. Harry Wagner Collection: Columbus, Ohio, USA Collection (2021)
Ex. Oriental Arms: Haifa, Isreal (http://oriental-arms.co.il/item.php?id=8709)
Ex. Czerny's: Sarzana, Italy (2015, 2016, 2018)

A rare example of the Mangbetu sape that crosses the sphere of arms and African art. The Mangbetu are renowned for their fine craftsmanship, carving of knives, musical instruments, horns, hairpins, pipes, and other crafts such as pottery and sculpture that became esspressive vehicles of anthropomorphic art. Figurative pieces were created to demonstrate wealth and status.


This example's anthropomorphic handle is carved from elephant ivory in the shape of a head, having an elongated skull depicted through the traditional Mangbetu custom of lipombo, or reshaping the skull by binding the head. Similar figures can be found on the hilts of trumbash, although not very common. The given black inlaid eyes are also expressive features. The double-edged steel blade is leaf shaped and tapers to a point with a slightly raised center. At some point between 2018 and 2021, the original leather sheath was either lost or discarded. Regardless, this piece exhibits magnificant visible expressions of cultural identity of Mangbetu works of art.

Photo 7: The wife of a Mangbetu Chief, Nobosodrou. Photo by Leon Poirier and George Specht, Citroen Expedition through Africa. Belgian Congo, March 1925.
Photo 8: Mangbetu woman and child. Details unknown.
Photo 9: Mangbetu Woman (1928 - 1938). Photo by Kazimierz Zagórski.
Photo 10: Belgian Congo, 1947. Photo by Ch. Eeman.