Nubian Blade with Figural Handle
Possibly Shilluk, South Sudan
Iron, wood, leather
Late 19th / early 20th century

Knives of this type are somewhat strange – the blades are traditional Sudanese types, but the handles are made of wood with crudely articulated human heads. Originating from South Sudan or eastern Sudan, they were apparently blades that were modified for dance or ceremony. Other examples can be found in the collections of the American Museum of Natural History and the Musée du Quai Branly. Another example was published in Westerdijk, African Metal Implements.

I deliberately acquired a number of these objects recently because there is a dearth of information about them, and I hoped to accumulate some data. The somewhat rudimentary carving style of the heads is distinctive, and most have conical tops and carved eyes, although one has beads for eyes. They range in size, typically from 9 to 19 inches - this example is an outlier at 24.5 inches. The style of the blades varies widely – symmetrical and asymmetrical, some taper to a single point, some have numerous branches like the blades of the Fur, and some have long, notched blades with a leaf-shaped tip. Two examples have a wooden pole below the head with a leaf-shaped spearpoint attached. There and singular examples with and without a sheath, and there are sets of three in a single sheath that can have one carved head on the central blade handle, or three carved heads. The examples with one carved head have curved horns or claws adorning the two outside blades. One of the examples I acquired has a Janus head, and I cannot ascertain if others do, because the museum databases display only one photograph of each object. The incising work tends to be deep and fairly simple, comparable to the aesthetics of South Sudan.

The largest collection of this type of which I am aware belongs to The American Museum of Natural History, where there are 12 examples (I have now acquired seven). Interestingly, five of their handles have non-conical heads, and one has an asymmetrical cone. Further insights into the use and meaning of these objects might be uncovered by investigating the history of Watson Pierce, from whom the AMNH acquired 42 objects of Sudanese origin in 1963.

There is some play (movement) on this example between the handle and blade. The pierced pieces of iron dangling from the chains were designed to imitate coins, which were signs of wealth. 

22.25 in :: 56.5 cm

InventoryID #13-2591

SOLD