Inauthentic Oshele Currency Blade
In the style of the Nkutshu / Ndengese, D.R. Congo
Steel
21st century

Original oshele currency blades are powerful, mystical, and extremely scarce. While they were certainly derived from throwing knife designs, their exact origins are unclear. The oshele once functioned as a measure of wealth and rank that could only be possessed by the ruling elders, the kilomo. As a prestigious currency, a fine oshele could be worth one hundred times the value of the iron from which it was made (Blackmun, Blades of Beauty and Death, 1990).  

The oshele is a blade whose inauthentic population vastly outnumbers the small authentic community, and historical records like provenance and collection data are essential for evaluation.

This blade was purchased from a West African dealer and shipped from North Africa – nothing coming close to central D.R.C., the blade’s supposed place of origin. But aside from its numerous flaws, I liked one particular detail that this example got right: the upper tip of the wing comes incredibly close to the lower edge of the crown – in authentic examples, this is a demonstration of the expertise of the blacksmith. 

Aside from that, this piece is wrong in many ways. First, the proportions are entirely off: the stem is far too long, and the wing, crown, and spur are far too small. The bright red rust is clearly very young; some sections easily flake-off, and in places, the fresh sheet steel is still mostly undisturbed and very clean. The incisions on the front side edges are a nice way to embellish the object, but do not represent traditional designs. 

32.25 :: 82 cm

InventoryID #13-1492

Not For Sale