Nigeria
Yoruba

Copper alloy
19th century or earlier
Height: 11 inches
Idiophone-Struck Directly – Metal Bell

This Yoruba Bell made for the Ogboni Society was used in rituals, possibly to make connections with their ancestors.  The Ogboni Society is a fraternal institution indigenous to the Oruba language-speaking polities of Nigeria, Republic of Benin, Togo, and among the Edo people.  

Ethnomusicologists believe that bells with a blade or knife handle, have a different function than bells with figural handles.