Sabre Knife
Gbaya / Bumali / Njem, C.A.Republic / Cameroon / Rep. of Congo / Gabon
Iron, wood, copper
Early 20th century

Knives of this type were inspired by functional designs, yet served as prestige emblems that were never meant to be thrown, despite their many similarities to throwing knives. While most Gbaya blades wear throwing-knife-style woven leather handles, this style is unique in that it wears a more fragile wooden handle, and even accentuates its ineffectiveness as a weapon with the deliberate off-kilter forward lean of the blade as it rises from the handle. Also unique to this type is the hooklet that is always present on the aft side of the stem above the handle. This blade is most commonly attributed to the Bumali (who number only a few thousand), but has also been collected among the larger parent group Gbaya (who number 4 million), and other smaller groups such as the Njem (Westerdijk, The African Throwing Knife, 1988).

This example is special because of its geometric incisions on the stem as well as the presence of two copper rivets. The iron shows incredible charachter. 

22.25 in :: 56.5 cm

InventoryID #13-2795

Price on Request