TERA Gallery - African Art and Antiquities

"Altering The Way You View The World Of Art"
Type of Object:     
    Luba Bellow
    20th c.

    A piece of rare elegance.

    Bellows like these are very important tools in sub-Saharan Africa.
    They are central pieces for smiths in the transformation of metal
    and the production of tools,currency, and other utilitarian objects.
    Bellows help to activate the fire that melt the metals and transform
    them

    While Europe was existing in the stone age, Africa had already
    learn to turn charcoal and ironstone into wrought iron. None of this
    would have been possible without  the bellow.  For many reasons,
    the African bellow is my favorite work of art.  This object allowed
    Africans to create tools to allow life to flourish and tools to destroy
    life.  Amost never seen, this was a royal tribal bellows used only
    by tribal kings and chieftains in secret for their own personal use.

    This is a very rare collectors or museum piece of metallurgy and
    African art.   The condition is excellent, with signs of long use,
    especially heavy ware on the back where it has rubbed on the
    ground.  This piece conserves its metal pipes.  The handles of the
    pumps are also polished and worn with use, testifying to the age
    and genuineness of this wonderful old piece.   

    In Africa, ironworkers were not thought of as simply craftsmen, but
    were accorded a quasi-religious status. They generally lived in
    seclusion and commanded a degree of political authority over
    their neighbors.
               
    The beauty of the bellows proves that is not merely an industrial
    tool necessary for the production of iron, but serves as perhaps
    the clearest indication of the respect and status paid to
    ironworkers in Africa.  The careful carving and elegant
    decorations heightens the beauty and elegance of this otherwise
    industrial tool and reflects both the importance of iron in the daily
    lives of the tribe and the significant status of the ironworker within
    this society.
               
    Used by blacksmiths, who melted down ore at low temperatures
    in furnaces consisting of a hole in the ground covered by round
    constructions in which layers of metal were alternated with layers
    of coal, the bellows provide air to the fires which were kept
    burning for two days.  The resulting mass of iron mixed with slag
    would then have to be purified, divided into ingots and worked
    again in the fire, before finally being hammered into shape on an
    anvil.

    The forge bellows had considerable cultural importance, since it
    was both a tool of trade and a symbolic figurative sculpture.  The
    bellows have sexual significance and were made by men who
    keep them out of the view of women and children.
       
    This whole bellow has an anthropomorphic figure shape with a
    carved head.  The breast (two chambers covered with animal
    skin) are hollowed and have airways that lead to the legs (base
    outlet) that would act as the bellows air intake while the leg metal
    tubular inserts allows for the air to be expelled.   The bellows
    would be laid on its back in front of the furnace to breath life to the
    fire.  In this example, you can see where it was placed in the fire in
    that the wood is charred from heat.

    This outstandingly beautiful bellows symbolized the special
    relationship of the blacksmith with the spirit world; it was possibly
    carved by the blacksmith himself, and it harnessed powerful
    spirits to breathe life into his creations.


Ethnic Group:       
    Luba Bellows


Country of Origin:   
    Congo       


Material:          
    Wood
    Leather
    Metal


Deminsions:
    27" height

                
Reference: