Mambila Currency of a Figurative Profile

A broad iron spade, a long twisted handle, and a little hook at the end like an afterthought.

This currency of a figurative profile is Mambila, from Nigeria, West Africa, and dates to the early 20th century. It is forged iron, and also attributed to the Chamba. Across the Nigeria and Cameroon borderlands, iron was often forged into oversized tool-like shapes that served as stores of value rather than working implements. The blade here is a rounded shield, thin and slightly ridged, its lower edge cut with small notches. A twisted shaft runs down from it, bound by a small collar, and curls into a hook at the bottom. It stands on a black mount. It is 10 inches wide and 29 high.

Too handsome for the garden, which was rather the point.