Slot Axe with Double Blade
Possibly Zaramo, Tanzania
Wood, iron
Early 20th century

The slot axe (with the blade carried through the shaft) occurs throughout East Africa, from Lake Victoria to the Zambezi River. It can be difficult to assign these types to a specific region or culture. Widstrand illustrates a slot axe with a single tang and two blades (like this piece), and identifies it as Zaramo (African Axes, 1954, fig. 223).  

Another slot axe with a single tang and two blades was published in Panga Na Visu and attributed to the Luguru. While figurative and thus decidedly different from this example, the author describes how the double blade indicated high-ranking status (Zirngibl & Kubetz, 2009, fig. 561).

The photo below depicts a man holding a related double axe, © Enrico Castelli / Barbier-Mueller Archives.

18 in :: 46 cm

InventoryID #13-2244

Price on Request