Small African Ax for ID

[Bill M]

This is about 21" long. I like the way the ax comes out of her mouth. I do wonder about what appears to be tacks on each side of her face just past the eyes. These look more recent than the rest. The patina seems very good.

[Flavio]

Hello Bill. You have a very beautiful Luba axe from Congo. Few times I have seen entire figures on the handle. Normally only the head is carved. Great!! :)

[tom hyle]

Nice. The wire appears to be of industrial origin. The tack is of a type commonly seen a cheap new version now, but such are a copy of an older type, so I can't really say. The wire being industrial doesn't mean it's new, of course. Old native African wire I've seen is forged, not drawn, so it's quite distinquishable, but wire was a popular early trade good from modern Europe.