African Bangle Antique Tribal Bronze Brass Manilla Bracelet Cuff Currency

  

We are a Greek/English family-run business established in the UK in 2011. Since then we have built up a large collection of unique items. Hand-picked from private collectors sales.

Our choice of items is based on quality, craftsmanship, cultural interest and beauty. We research every single item and aim to provide as much information as possible about its history and provenance. As well as understanding Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and French, so please do communicate without fear for any questions you may have. We are here to help and provide any information you need at all times. We have been packing and sending items abroad for many years and have successfully delivered even the most fragile pieces including Venetian mirrors, carved chairs and arabesque tables.

African Bangle Antique Tribal Bronze Brass Manilla Bracelet Cuff Currency. Manillas are generally accepted to be open bracelets in various sizes, cast in copper alloyed with lead, zinc and tin for example and traded as currency from the late 15th to the early 20th centuries. Their circulation was mainly within West Africa and in particular in south-eastern Nigeria. These manillas were crafted by unknown artisans and while definite attribution is difficult, the bulbous ends are typical of the Yoruba tribes who make up nearly one fifth of the Nigerian population. The aluminium manilla shares many features in common with the silver manillas crafted by members of the Tuareg tribe of the Mali-Niger area, or alternatively with the arm rings worn by the Agadez people, also of the Mali-Niger region. Francine Farr suggests that two of the manillas in this group are Tuareg and Johansson Nigerian Currencies, figure 4, p. 17 attributes to the Sokoto Province a manilla that is stylistically similar to one of the group. The twisted body may indicate usage in bride-price settlements and the characteristic polyhedron endings are typical of Saharan jewellery. It is possible their composite metals either were sourced locally or were melted down from European manillas and reformed. The origin of the word manilla could be either derived from the Spanish for necklace (monilia), or from the Latin for hand (manus).

Manillas have a function that is both decorative and ritualistic, playing a role in the ceremonial customary practices connected with marriage and burial. It is unclear if these manillas were in fact worn or merely amassed as a sign of wealth and status. The complexity and execution of detail as well as aural/resonance factor and reflective quality probably enhanced their value and desirability. Manillas', in The Nigerian Field, Vol.

Nigerian Currencies: Manillas, Cowries and Others. Norrkpoping, Sweden: printed by Alfa-Tryck for the author, 1967. New York: AMS Press, 1979. 6.2 cm internal diameter, 8.7 cm external diameter. In the summer of 2013 our shop featured in the BBC series Antiques Road Trip; we have also worked with prop-masters and costume designers in the film industry, supplying jewellery and antiques for productions such as Mr Holmes (with Ian Mckellan), Viceroy's House (directed by Gurinder Chadha), the upcoming Disney production Maleficient II, and the TV series Downton Abbey.