Small Asymmetrical Knife
Ndo / Alur / Bake / Mambisa, Northeastern D.R. Congo / Northwestern Uganda
Iron
Late 19th / early 20th century

This blade was manufactured by the Ndo, but also used by the Alur, Bale, and Mambisa. This type of knife was used in horticulture, and was the prerogative of women. The squre stem originally would have been covered in a woven grip made of leather or vegetable fiber.

Published (illustrated): Westerdijk, Heinrich. Ijzerwerk van Centraal-Afrika. 1975. Group VII, fig. 13. Still visible, Westerdijk’s inventory number “W19” is painted on the bottom of the handle counterweight.

A related example identified as a Kwere circumcision knife is in the Musée d'ethnographie de Genève, here. 

7.5 in :: 19 cm

InventoryID #13-1410

SOLD