Rare Sao Bronze Bird. Chad

Rare small zoomorphic bronze from the Sao civilisation, formerly settled on the borders of Chad, Nigeria and Cameroon. 
While many clay figurines have come down to us, and now complement the collections of the Quai Branly Museum in Paris and the Museum of La Rochelle, bronze figurines are rarer. They were produced between the 14th and 16th centuries.
Our example features a double representation of birds, which appear to be resting against each other. Our small amulet, for funerary use, has a deep green excavation patina.
A similar representation of a solitary bird is recorded in the collections of the Musée du quai Branly under inventory number 71.1948.15.98. This "beautiful brass bird whose origin is unknown" (Cf. Hélène Joubert in Sao, le peuple de l'argile au Tchad, Exposition archéologique, 2007, p.9) is described as a duck. 
Mint condition. Custom-made brass base.