Zanze

late 19th century
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 681
Pyro-engraved leaf or geometric patterns and symbolic ideograms (nsibidi) are associated with the Efik people of Nigeria’s coastal Calabar region. Rattan lamellae laced to the body are characteristic of this area.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Zanze
  • Date: late 19th century
  • Geography: Calabar, Nigeria
  • Culture: Nigerian (Efik)
  • Medium: wood (Kapok, Ceiba pentandra), rattan
  • Dimensions: L. 12 7/8 ×W. 3 11/16 × D. 1 1/4 in. (32.7 × 9.3 × 3.2 cm)
    Lamellae rise 9/16 in. (1.4 cm) above the box
  • Classification: Idiophone-Plucked / Depressed
  • Credit Line: The Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments, 1889
  • Object Number: 89.4.1264
  • Curatorial Department: Musical Instruments

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