The round chambers on the bellows would have been covered
with animal hide. The skin would have enveloped a volume of
air, which when compressed by a skilled blacksmith, would have
forced the air out through the tubular passages to fan or stoke
the fire. The heat would cause the metal to melt which was then
forged or cast.
Many African cultures viewed the manufacture of
iron as a procreative process whereby the union of primal
elements; earth, air, fire and water conceived iron as its offspring.
Height: 24 3/8" x Width: 18" x Depth: 5 1/2".
The dimensions of the stand are 7 1/2" x 9" and it stands 26" tall on this base.