H x W x D: 51.6 x 11.1 x 2.1 cm (20 5/16 x 4 3/8 x 13/16 in.)
Type:
Sculpture
Date:
Early to mid-20th century
Label Text:
Today, the Tuareg wear swords and daggers mainly on special occasions and at festivals. They attach daggers, which were once used for hunting, to belts worn at their waists. The handle on this dagger was fashioned by hammering layers of different materials together. The Tuareg originally acquired the blades for their swords and daggers through trade.
Description:
Arm dagger with well worn triangular shaped blade. At the top of the blade is a silver sheet attachment with engraved motifs. The pommel has two extensions on either side and was made with the sandwich technique in which layers of different metals and wood were interspersed with one another.
Provenance:
Private European collection, collected Niger or Mali, 1959-1971 to 1993
Exhibition History:
Inscribing Meaning: Writing and Graphic Systems in African Art, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, May 9- August 26, 2007; Fowler Museum at University of California, Los Angeles, October 14, 2007-February 17, 2008
The Earth Moves - We Follow: Celebrating African Art, Frank H. McClung Museum, Knoxville, January 10-May 18, 2003
Art from the Forge, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., September 6, 1995-January 2, 1996
Published References:
Loughran, Kristyne. 1995. Art from the Forge. Washington D.C.: National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, p. 17, no. 10.
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