Congolese Handa or Cross Currency

Tidy cross with a central seam, like a letter folded in four directions.

This Handa or cross currency from the Kasai region is from Kasai, Katanga, Kasai River, Democratic Republic of Congo, Central Africa, and dates to the early 20th century. It is metal. Katanga is a copper-rich region, and its metalworking traditions supplied crosses and other ingot forms that traveled widely in regional trade. Flat cross with a visible vertical ridge running through the middle, each arm broadening into a rounded paddle. The surface is warm reddish brown, pocked and softly worn, with pinkish areas along the edges. It is 7.5 inches wide and 7.5 deep.

Plain, balanced, and faintly smug about it.