H x W x D: 33.5 x 35 x 3.5 cm (13 3/16 x 13 3/4 x 1 3/8 in.)
Type:
Sculpture
Geography:
Gabon
Date:
Late 19th to mid-20th century
Label Text:
This type of blade could function as a defensive hand held weapon but more importantly it was an display object owned by chiefs and important ritual specialists. The high quality of the iron and the amount of copper convey status and it is not surprising that these knives, and other weapons, were kept in shrines along with the ancestral reliquaries. The wrapping technique on the handle and the stapled pommel is also found on Kota reliquary figures that are copper and brass over wood.
During initiation into the Mungala men's society, the leader or chief of the dance, imitates a monster that threatens the young male initiates. He swings this type of knife as he crouches and moves and cries out.
While western publications have often described the blade as bird shaped, even more specifically as a hornbill, there are no field reports from smiths or others that support this comparison.
Description:
Flat iron blade in the form of a bird head with an open triangle "eye," handle with projecting spur and a conical pommel. The handle from spur to pommel is wrapped in copper alloy wire.
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