Chokwe Thumb Piano Congo Rohner Collection

Chokwe Thumb Pianos, otherwise known as "Sanzas" or "Mbiras," are lamellophones - musical instruments that make sound by the plucking of thin, flexible metal plates fixed at one end. The shorter of these plates create higher frequencies, while the longer plates create lower frequencies. 

This specific sanza has 10 different metal plates of different lengths fixed to a resonance board decorated with patterned carvings on the front, and two carvings of faces on the back.

The Chokwe are thought to be descended from the Mbuti and Mbundu pygmies, although this link has not been firmly established. We can, however, trace them back with certainty to the old Lunda Empire. We know they suffered under Lunda domination as early as 1600, and their territory was firmly established in central Angola during this time. Over the centuries, colonialism, wars, disease and famine resulted in the fragmentation of the Chokwe into the smaller, more isolated groups we find today. Relatives of the Chokwe include the Lwena, the Songo and the Ovimbundu, and their artworks bear strong evidence of Chokwe origin. 

Base of resonance board is cracked, see photos for more details.

Provenance: John R. Rohner Collection
Rohner, a museum curator for decades, aimed his practiced eye for authenticity to African art beginning in the early 1908s. His passion for this art only grew through the decades he built his collection––always with an aim for a broad and representative array of pieces. The collection appears in his book, Art Treasures from African Runners (2000, University Press of Colorado). 

Item #231 on pg. 139

Height (In): 9.75
Width (In): 5.5
Depth (In): 1.75

157289