Democratic Republic of Congo
Songye

Wood
Early-Mid 20th Century
Length: 17.5 inches x Width: 14 inches
Blacksmith’s bellows

This blacksmith’s bellows is carved from a single piece of wood, showing an elegant head with a long neck and fascial features typical of the Songye. The bellows has four chambers originally covered with bags made of animal skin, which are missing here. Usually wooden handles were used to raise and lower the skins in the bellows to force air out of the iron nozzles/tubes to fan the fire.  Bellows like these are central pieces for blacksmiths in the transformation of metal and the production of tools, currency, and other utilitarian objects.  They also helped to activate the fire that melted the metals in making metal tongues of the early lamellophones. Today, the common practice is to hammer pieces of metal, such as bicycle wheel spokes to make the lamellas.