150-Year-Old Monumental Heavy Saddle-Curved Brass Tribal Anklets (Pair - Banka / Tora)

Extraordinary and monumental 150-year-old authentic matched pair of very heavy tribal brass anklets (known in historic regional tribal nomenclature as Banka, Tora, or Banka Pahuda), cast circa mid-19th century in the tribal hill tracts of Odisha and Central-Eastern India. Among the heaviest and most archaic forms of Indian tribal adornment ever recorded, this remarkable pair is cast from massive solid bell-brass metal with a polygonal chamfered bar cross-section. The design showcases an undulating three-dimensional hyperbolic saddle curve (curving upward over the instep and Achilles tendon while dipping laterally beneath the malleolus), terminating in a clean open-gap with rectangular blunt terminals. This dramatic ergonomic curvature allowed the heavy solid bar to rest securely around the ankle, anchoring itself firmly through sheer gravitational mass without rotating or slipping. In historic tribal societies, massive solid brass anklets of this monumental caliber were worn exclusively by elder matriarchs and women of paramount clan standing. They fulfilled vital multifaceted functions: serving as physical armor against venomous snakes and jagged undergrowth during deep jungle treks, providing spiritual grounding against malevolent forest spirits, and acting as a portable, indestructible reservoir of generational clan bullion. Completely extinct, obsolete, and no longer made or worn in contemporary times, intact matched pairs of this colossal weight and sculpted geometric form are virtually impossible to find outside premier museum collections. Preserved in remarkable antique condition with natural aged silvery-olive brass patina and authentic historic surface wear.