Looking for a good reason to show you some of my latest pieces I started to wonder about Songye axes. A lot of Congo axes are sold as Songye, but to my eye not all are equally easy to attribute, and I wonder if some information is available on the different types.
I thought I would start out with the easy ones (correct me if I'm wrong). This group of axes are Nsapo, a group on the north western edge of the Songye range. Their axes were highly prized and travelled quite widely, but I think are generally easy to identify due to the forms of the blade.
There are other threads on these on the forum too, but these particular examples are all from my collection.
The first one is an example with six heads on the supports to the blade. One of these (I guess there is a technical name for it?) is made to resemble a twisted rope. The heads are well made. These are said to represent the status of the axe holder and relate to the number of families he was in charge of. Although I have also seen alternative explanations related to revering their ancestors. I'm not certain of the origins of either explanation. In this case the shaft is covered in monitor lizard skin, club-shaped and flared at the bottom, but flattened laterally at the top.
This piece has an interesting provenance being owned by Werner Fischer author of one of the reference books on African weapons, in the 1940s.
The second example is simpler, 8 heads (six on one side and two on the other). This is quite normal, sometimes there are the same number of heads on both sides but typically not - suggesting some kind of significance. This is very like the first example but with the blade supports all having heads and no 'rope' work. The shaft is covered with snake skin (probably ball python).
The third example has many more heads and a more complicated blade. In this case there are 22 heads. There are examples with hundreds, but 22 is quite a few. This time the shaft is covered in copper sheet and is heavily flared at the bottom, club-shaped at the top but more rounded than the first example.
The fourth example is a smaller version of the third, fewer heads but the blade edge is extended into points both top and bottom. Also covered in copper sheet.
The 5th and 6th examples have a different blade shape, very few heads but similar construction of the supports.
As far as I can see, of the examples with the forged then incised heads, these form these three groups (and flow quite a bit between forms). I have heard that the copper covered ones were more sought after, copper had significance to them, but I don't know of any information that might help classify these further. All examples are close in size typically 38 x 25 cm.
As far as I am aware, all these are bona fide Nsapo. It does not mean that the people who used them were Nsapo because these were valuable trade commodities and were traded quite widely. Here I believe though that the Songye were indeed the primary users.
I will post some examples of some other forms of Songye axe in a few days, and then the ones that I think are questionable as to origin.
I would happily receive corrections and additions to the information I have
