This is a genuine piece of antique tribal art. It dates to the late 19th century or early 20th century.
It is an old cast brass or bronze travelling Nupe pouch and has a good bit of weight to it.
There are two suspension rings at the top and decorative rings all around the bottom edge of the base. From these rings hangs a selection of leather straps and cowrie shells.
To open the pouch, you slide the top part of the base up and over the two suspension loops at each side of the pouch on the top, as photographed. The pouch measures about 26 cm in height and the width at its widest is about 20 cm.
The bag was probably for storing herbal medicines or for use when travelling or as a decorative item at tribal ceremonies.
The lid section on the front is decorated with two "matchstick" slim stylized figures. They have triangular bodies and their heads are raised from the flat background. Two snakes are entwined around their body. Two more snakes are around the lid section of the pouch and then another two larger snakes are just underneath the lid on the base section. There is great texturing on the scales of each one.
The back of the pouch is a plain gold-coloured metal with a fine patina of age to the brass, again as photographed.
The pouch is in good condition with no major disfiguring damages. If you put a new hanging cord on the suspension loops at the top, it will look fabulous on display hung on a wall.
There is a good bit of weight to this metal pouch and unpacked it is just under 2 kg in weight.
These old Benin pouches are now highly collectable and listed here at a very fair price - especially with the more unusual intricate snake and figural decorations. My one is listed at a fair price.
Postage will be with Royal Mail Medium Parcel. Please select a tracked and signed for service so we can get it fully insured in transit. This will be applied to your order at the checkout.