Tikar Bronze Currency, Cameroon, Based

Money used to be much harder to carry off.

This currency piece, on a base, is Tikar, from Cameroon, and dates to the 20th century. It is cast bronze. Across this part of Africa, large cast rings could store and display wealth, changing hands at marriages and other major exchanges while marking the status of those who held them. A heavy open collar, decorated with rows of spiral bosses, fans out into long curved spokes along its outer edge. A flat plaque rises at the top. A black stand holds it. Over 15 inches high, at 15.5.

Try folding it.