HH 01 - Akan Miniature Cast Bronze Bracelet / Ring Currency, West Africa

This finely made small scale cast bronze bracelet is an authentic West African personal ornament and currency ring, produced using the lost-wax (cire perdue) casting technique. The compact circular form, decorated with a continuous band of raised nodular bosses, is characteristic of Akan metalwork traditions, where both large and miniature bracelets functioned as personal wealth items, adornments, and exchange units.

Examples of this reduced size were often worn on the wrist, forearm, or as a stacked ornament, and could also circulate individually as measured units of value. The surface displays a stable, aged patina with wear consistent with prolonged handling and use.

The interior is clearly marked “HH”, identifying it as part of the field collection of Hans Himmelheber. The bracelet comes from the Egon Guenther collection, providing strong scholarly provenance and placing the object firmly within early 20th-century ethnographic collecting history.

Dimensions

• Outside diameter: 52.5 mm

• Inside diameter: 34.88 mm

• Thickness: 5.5 mm

• Weight: 32 grams