Bellows
ClassificationsTools and Equipment-bellows
Date19th to early 20th century
Made AtGabon, Africa
MediumWood
DimensionsOverall: 22 in. (55.9 cm)
Credit LineAnonymous Gift
Object number93.43.5
DescriptionThese 19th to 20th century bellows are made of wood. This style of wooden bellows made by several of Gabon’s cultural groups would have originally had each cavity covered by airtight skin. Long wooden sticks connected to the skins would have allowed a blacksmith or their assistant to quickly push the air in the sealed chambers of the bellows through wooden tubes and into clay pipes to supply a fire with air. This style of bellows might not have fueled the production of iron tools in Africa, but it did fan that flame.On View
Not on view
early 19th Century
December 1966
