Double Blade
Banda / Ngambaye, Southeastern Chad / Northwestern Central African Republic (Ubangi-Shari Region)
Forged iron, wood
Early 20th century

While the sole published example of this rare type is described as deriving from the Nuba of Sudan, the provenance of this piece points its origin farther south, to the Ubangi-Shari Region of Chad.

A passage in Afrikanische Waffen describes this knife type, but without an illustration: "I was taken by an old man to his hut where he gave me a double-bladed knife used in ritual fights. The knife had been used so often that the pont had been broken off. Upon seeing my joy, the old man brought out another knife. This was a war knife with two steel blades attached to the handle. He showed me how to use it by strapping it to his wrist with strips of palm leaf" (Fischer & Zirngibl, 1978).

Field collected by Armand Marcel Fontaine between 1920 and 1950, when he served as a colonial administrator.

Marc Leo Felix published a set of single-bladed daggers (decidedly different), that had extremely similar handles. He attributed them to cultures farther east: the Ngbaka / Mbanja / Ngiri from Central African Republic / D.R. Congo (White Gold, Black Hands: Ivory Sculpture in Congo Vol. 8, 2014, fig. 3). 

10.25 in :: 26 cm

InventoryID #13-1602

Not For Sale