Blade with handle

This ceremonial axe is sometimes attributed to Kota-speaking people in Gabon, but this piece was attributed to Mossi smiths when it entered the MFA collection.  While many axes like this one can be found for sale today in the art market, there is little scholarship on who made or used these pieces. The lack of information on the artist's name, language, nationality, or other information is a result of the erasures of African art history caused by the colonial occupation of the continent. Colonial officials and missionaries often purchased or seized objects without recording who made the object, who owned it, and where it was collected.  Even when such information was recorded, it is often lost as pieces are exchanged through the global market.