English: Sword (mbele a lulendo, 'sword of power') of iron and wood.

Kingdom of Kongo, northwestern Angolo, 16th century

Swords of this type were carried as symbols of authority by noblemen of the acient kingdom of Kongo. During the late 15th century the Portuguese began to trade the hinterland of the Congo river estuary, and theri influence in that region increased greatly during the 16th century. The elaborate form of the quillons of this swords derives from Renaissance period weapons of the Spanish penisula. A similar arrangement of quillons may be found on other African swords such as the nimcha of Morocco. Certain Kongo ancestor figures (niombo) are carved in a formal stance with one hand raised, the other lowered, a stance which seems to echo the arrangement of the quillons on the 'swords of power'. This gesture has a complex symoblic meaning, signifying the power to link sky and earth and to make the transition between the worlds of the living and the dead.