Weapons & Metalwork - African Art

« Inquire About This Item » A beautifully worked iron knife with elements of both an axe and a sickle. Such knives appear to have been ceremonial as the blades are often decorated with intricate punch-work designs. The handle consists of the second piece of iron, beaten and wrapped tightly around the shaft of the weapon. Occasionally, these knives are also decorated with leather details; in this example, a collar of woven rawhide conceals the curved neck between the blade and handle. The cutting edge of the knife is the outer curve, which is extremely sharp. 14". $900 « Inquire About This Item » View Number 2	« Inquire About This Item » I have a number of these in stock; the two here are the finest examples. Typically, these traditional currency objects, which hail from northeast Nigeria, are less than 12" in length. Some years ago, I had a chance to purchase a cache that were twice the size of those I had seen up until then. They were also magnificently wrought. I bought most of them, including these two. $800 each, mounted.	« Inquire About This Item » The Matakam are subsistence farmers occupying the northern reaches of the Mandara Mountains in northwest Cameroon. Their land is rugged and unforgiving, but it has provided them with protection from enslavement and the exploitation of outsiders. Because the Matakam see themselves as under constant threat from external forces, they have clung to their traditions. They are indebted to their land and give prayers and thanks for the meager crops they are able to coax from the rocky soil. This is a very fine example of Matakam hoe currency. It is hand-forged from iron and most likely well over 100 years old. The iron is stable but thickly oxidized. Splashes of whitewash have blended into the surface and could be brushed out, although I like the way it looks. 25" tall. $500.	« Inquire About This Item » According to Andre Blandin in "Fer Noire" lances of this type date to the 19th century and were the works of the blacksmiths of Samory in what is today Burkina Faso. He describes the piece as Bobo. Binger, reported seeing these during his journey of 1887-89, recorded their name as sanegue. The form may be based on period French bayonettes with the modification of an S curve to allow for the weapon to rest comfortably on warriors' shoulders. By 1919 the French had confiscated all sanegue except those secreted by the population who must have held them in some esteem as scores remained cached until the early 90s. Several appear in Wheelock where they are identified as Turka. This example is exceptional for its fine form and excellent condition. On custom mount. 31" tall. $1000 « Inquire About This Item » View Number 2 « Inquire About This Item » View Number 3 « Inquire About This Item » View Number 4	« Inquire About This Item » At 22" in length this is an especially large and beautifully formed example of a type of gong found across a swath of West Africa that includes northern Ivory Coast and parts of Burkina Faso. The scalloped lips of the tubular lower portion allow for the creation of a ripple of sound when a stick or rod is passed down the length. The gong can also be struck anywhere along its length. Excellent, highly oxidized patina. Early 20th century, but likely much older. « Inquire About This Item » View Number 2 « Inquire About This Item » View Number 3 « Inquire About This Item » View Number 4
« Inquire About This Item » Field images from Nigeria's rugged northeastern frontier with Cameroon have recorded young women dancing with sickle-like iron wands during harvest festivals. Although this staff is more elaborate than those captured in the afore mentioned images its form nevertheless references the harvest sickle. Traces of resin in decorative bands on its blade of this staff support a ceremonial purpose as do jingling rings at the terminus. This is an old object in fine condition with a deep oxidized patina. The original braided grass wrapping remains on the handle. The form also relates closely to Verre ceremonial sickle-axes. On a custom mount. 11.5" $400 « Inquire About This Item » View Number 2 « Inquire About This Item » View Number 3	« Inquire About This Item » These two knives are archetypically Ovambo from the extreme north of Namibia. The handles and sheaths are matched to create a sinuous streamlined form ending in an inverted "T" or fishtail. A carved lug on the back allows for the knives to be carried on a belt or shoulder strap. The "T" would permit the bottom to be tied fast to a leg something useful when moving quickly in the bush. Unlike most wooden African sheaths which are made from two separate pieces of wood bound together the Ovambo carve theirs in one piece necessitating the open front. The resultant window attractively contrasts wood against metal and breaks the notion of the solid form encouraged by the matched handle and seamless contours. Ex. UK collection; 1930s or before; 16" and 19.5" respectively. A similar knife sold at Sotheby's Paris in September of 2007. Prices on request « Inquire About This Item » View Number 2 « Inquire About This Item » View Number 3	« Inquire About This Item » Although absurdly heavy, Ekonda anklets served as both jewelry and tribal currency. To make the cylindrical leg bands Ekonda casters spread a mulch of beaten banana plant pith on the earth and impressed a wooden form into it. The form was carefully removed from the silken paste. The impression was then presumably allowed to dry or stiffen before molten copper alloy was poured into it. While still soft and smoking hot the casting was picked up with tongs and beaten into the desired size cylinder. Incised details were later worked into the surface. Not surprisingly, Ekonda forms are greatly outnumbered by the castings they produced. This is a fine example, many decades old and worn from repeated use. 14" long; mounted on a custom base. $1000 « Inquire About This Item » View Number 2 « Inquire About This Item » View Number 3	« Inquire About This Item » Legbands such as this varied in detail, size and weight throughout their range. Their usage was shared by the Ekonda, Budja and other Mongo peoples in Congo's Equateur Province. They were only worn by women around whose legs they were hammered closed. Not surprisingly it is related that their great weight led to the disfigurement of the the wearers legs and a dragging gait. This example is especially well detailed with fine, encroaching lines covering most of the outer surface. It is remarkably heavy. About a century old. 8" long. $1200 « Inquire About This Item » View Number 2 « Inquire About This Item » View Number 3 « Inquire About This Item » View Number 4	« Inquire About This Item » These knives are a pair and they are priced as such. Please note that they may be purchased separately. Each is expertly wrought and in excellent condition. For more than 20 years they resided in the collection of Stewart Warkow, New York. They have their original handles and patination. A twist in the mid blade of the knife on the left illustrates the great skill of the blacksmith and differentiate the two. It also adds an extra dash of luxury and dimension to these beautiful status weapons. 20.5" tall, museum mounts. $2000 for the pair. « Inquire About This Item » View Number 2
« Inquire About This Item » In the absence of verifiable sources, identifying these sickle-like implements is a challenge. Judging from the patina and hand wrought nature of the iron blades and wooden handles these wands are unquestionably old and well used. Over the past twenty years a few dozen have appeared on the market, a handful at a time, usually identified as Chamba or Kirdi. Field photographs of Podokwo harvest festivals from northwest Cameroon show young women dancing with sickle shaped implements. The more elaborate sickle on offer each has a finial consisting of a faceted, blunt tipped arrowhead surmounting a narrow serpentine neck- features offering dubious utility in either a weapon or a tool. It seems likely therefore that this implement was intended as a prop, presumably in a public performance or ceremony. Finally, the fine craftsmanship, shape and proportions of the ironwork, particularly with regard to the arrowhead, closely parallel spear points and currencies positively identified as Chamba. A beautiful example of ceremonial ironwork, 20" tall. $450 « Inquire About This Item » View Number 2 « Inquire About This Item » View Number 3	« Inquire About This Item » In the absence of verifiable sources, identifying these sickle-like implements is a challenge. Judging from the patina and hand wrought nature of the iron blades and wooden handles these wands are unquestionably old and well used. Over the past twenty years a few dozen have appeared on the market, a handful at a time, usually identified as Chamba or Kirdi. Field photographs of Podokwo harvest festivals from northwest Cameroon show young women dancing with sickle shaped implements. The more elaborate sickle on offer each has a finial consisting of a faceted, blunt tipped arrowhead surmounting a narrow serpentine neck- features offering dubious utility in either a weapon or a tool. It seems likely therefore that this implement was intended as a prop, presumably in a public performance or ceremony. Finally, the fine craftsmanship, shape and proportions of the ironwork, particularly with regard to the arrowhead, closely parallel spear points and currencies positively identified as Chamba. A beautiful example of ceremonial ironwork, 20" tall. $450 « Inquire About This Item » View Number 2 « Inquire About This Item » View Number 3	« Inquire About This Item » In the absence of verifiable sources, identifying these sickle-like implements is a challenge. Judging from the patina and hand wrought nature of the iron blades and wooden handles these wands are unquestionably old and well used. Over the past twenty years a few dozen have appeared on the market, a handful at a time, usually identified as Chamba or Kirdi. Field photographs of Podokwo harvest festivals from northwest Cameroon show young women dancing with sickle shaped implements. The more elaborate sickle on offer each has a finial consisting of a faceted, blunt tipped arrowhead surmounting a narrow serpentine neck- features offering dubious utility in either a weapon or a tool. It seems likely therefore that this implement was intended as a prop, presumably in a public performance or ceremony. Finally, the fine craftsmanship, shape and proportions of the ironwork, particularly with regard to the arrowhead, closely parallel spear points and currencies positively identified as Chamba. A beautiful example of ceremonial ironwork, 20" tall. $450 « Inquire About This Item » View Number 2 « Inquire About This Item » View Number 3	« Inquire About This Item » At ten inches in diameter (7.5" deep) this is among the largest Mbole currencies I have ever seen. Forming a nearly perfectly symmetrical sphere with lips that meet tightly at the bottom it is also a masterpiece of forged copper. Mboles come in a variety of sizes and accompanying values. The largest sizes are the rarest and often in the worst condition- largely the result of the copper having been worked to such a degree that they crack or are beaten so thin as to be easily dented or consumed by corrosion. I have other Mboles which are small less perfect and lower in price, but this one has no equal. Mounted. Price on request « Inquire About This Item » View Number 2 « Inquire About This Item » View Number 3	« Inquire About This Item » Once, while I was waiting for a ride out of a ramshackle village at the edge of the Ituri forest in Zaire a truck burst from the broken jungle carrying a huge red log streaming pennants of vines. "That's sad," I commented to the hanger on waiting with me. "Zaire has millions of trees," the young man replied. "We can cut them and cut them for a thousand years." I pointed out that the spot where we were standing with its plank huts, sodden children and pet baboon chained to a papaya tree had once been forest too. "Maybe not a thousand years," he admitted then. "Maybe just two hundred." Or maybe less? There was a time in the mid 90s or so when African traders would open the doors of their vans and warehouse lockers to reveal piles of these Mboles. The once seemly inexhaustible supply of these hammered copper curiosities has been depleted. I probably won't be offered any more so here are all the ones I have left. 7" to 8" diameters. Price on request. « Inquire About This Item » View Number 2
« Inquire About This Item » A nearly identical cuff to this one can be found (with some difficulty considering the appalling lighting and layout) at the Mus�e Quai Branly in Paris. Both examples feature the hand hammered latitudinal ridges covering most of the cylinder with the brilliant inverted motif in the center. Such armlets were not necessarily worn in pairs or carried daily. The Kwele considered them currency objects as much as adornments accounting for the high degree of consistency between one example and the next. Extremely rare in American collections. 9" long and 4" wide. Unmounted. Price on request. « Inquire About This Item » View Number 2 « Inquire About This Item » View Number 3	« Inquire About This Item » This cuff dates from the 19th century. It was fabricated from a piece of beaten and chased brass; it is not a casting. Among the Ibo armlets were relatively popular adornments. They were worn in pairs or singly. 6" long and 4" in diameter. Modestly priced. « Inquire About This Item » View Number 2 « Inquire About This Item » View Number 3 « Inquire About This Item » View Number 4	« Inquire About This Item » The Lobi are one among several West African peoples whose blacksmiths occasionally produced traditional figurative works along with their common stock and trade of musical instruments, jewelry, knives, hoes and other tools. Among the sculptural works commonly fabricated for local consumption were snakes, anthropomorphic figures, chameleons and crocodiles. The statuettes served protective purposes and were carried, worn or placed in shrines to appease the spirits they represented. This old, deeply patinated figure has a simple elegance. The brevity of its head along with the inwardly curving gesture of its arms concentrates attention on the figure's midsection. It seems about to speak, or perhaps to be gathering itself. 5.5" inches tall; mounted on a customs base. Price on request. « Inquire About This Item » View Number 2 « Inquire About This Item » View Number 3 « Inquire About This Item » View Number 4	« Inquire About This Item » Although missing a small notch from one its flared finials this monumental coiled currency is among the very best I've ever handled. The patina is deep and richly hued. The incising is intricate. The craftsmanship is robust and the form well flawless. Currencies of this type date from before or from the earliest years of European contact in the 16th century. Fabrication was accomplished by heating copper and pounding it into a bar- in this case a four sided one. The flared ends were then fashioned by heating the bar and striking it end-on. After repeated heating in the forge and beating on an anvil the helix was ultimately formed by hammer and tongs, then decorated with patterns of punched dots and lines. 8" greatest length. This is an impressive, heavy piece of sculpture that is remarkable from all angles. Price on request « Inquire About This Item » View Number 2 « Inquire About This Item » View Number 3 « Inquire About This Item » View Number 4	« Inquire About This Item » Like the neighboring Lobi, Gan blacksmiths fabricated a variety of figurative works in addition to the implements, bells and nails that made up the bulk of their living. Among these were small sculptural works such as this old, hand-wrought 7" figure. Beginning with a bit of red hot iron drawn from the forge with a set of tongs the Gan blacksmith would have set to work with his hammer, a chisel, a stone anvil and talent. The result is a masterpiece in the economy of form, a robust statuette with a human body and reptilian or dog-like head. Such objects were vital elements in healing, ancestral worship and divination, relating humankind to nature, through the harnessing or fire and iron. Price upon request. « Inquire About This Item » View Number 2
« Inquire About This Item » This curious and delightful sculpture is unique in my experience. The Lobi are well known for their figurative works in iron, chiefly figurines, chameleons and snakes of various sizes. The occasional crocodile adds to the mix. In bronze amorous images of chameleons are quite common although these come out of an altogether different tradition. Whatever the inspiration for the creation of this image, it creator accomplished it with great sensitivity and skill. Each crocodile was apparently fashioned separately before assembly. The bottom animal is considerably longer and wider than her mate who grips her tightly. Over time the two have fused completely. 6." long. Price on request. « Inquire About This Item » View Number 2	« Inquire About This Item » This old Moba iron figure is unusually large at 12" in length. The deliberate, gentle curve of its body, abbreviated limbs and bulbous head are classic qualities of Moba works of art. « Inquire About This Item » View Number 2	« Inquire About This Item » The curious piece was probably fabricated as a diviner's prop. It would have been kept in a bag, a basket or some such container with other unique bits and pieces such as curiously shaped rocks and twigs, lovingly carved figurines, sea shells, a miniature axe and the like to aid in the revelation of cures and visions. Of the few miniature stool I have seen over the years this is one of the few I've seen in iron. Other iron miniatures one might encounter are mini shackles, gongs and weapons. What makes the stool so unusual is that the full scale version would only have been carved. Ancient pitted patina indicating the probability of an archeological history. 5.5" long. Price on request « Inquire About This Item » View Number 2