Protective charm. Copper cast of roughly cuboid shape fused to an irregularly-shaped disc.
'Musuku' (ingots) vary in size and weight. Some are hollow while others are solid. However, they all conform to a similar form, having (usually) a base leading to a narrower shaft terminating in a series of projections. 'Musuku' are thought to have been cast by pouring molten copper into an impression made in sand, the projections being the extremities and the base formed by the overflow (as seen in this object). Their significance and use remain a mystery, although a few are still said to be in the ownership of Venda chiefs, being 'revered as objects of authority and spiritual power' (Van Schalkwyk in Phillips, T., 1995, p 200).
