Spear help please
 

Hello all, I’m new to the forum and would like to say hello and open with asking for some advice if possible. I recently acquired a short spear and have no knowledge as to its origins.

The spear measures 104 cm long and has a socketed head. Both the socket part of the head and the bulbous base of the spear are decorated.

Can anyone please identify it’s origins? Country, possibly age etc?

Many thanks in advance

Al

This is most interesting and I am so pleased you have shown it here. I have same thing with some obvious differences, a brass blade. It is also the same size 105cm 1cm longer than yours but lets not get too upset about that , its how you use it that matters I am told. In my opinion these spears are from West Africa and I strongly suspect Nigeria Cameroon border regions.

What pleases me most about this thread is when I offered my spear to the well known auction house tribal art expert who like me {except I saw no reason to find fault with the spear} had not seen another. The expert assured me that it was just something cobbled together which is so easy to say with an heir of knowledgeable superiority, and so of no interest. This happens quite often and dare I say it here too. Until ones sees another example it is just one-upmanship. So the more off standard examples of pieces shown here with an open mind will help us all.

Hi Tim. Yes there are some similarities for sure. What I found interesting about my example is the very old fashioned way that it has been repaired. It obviously had some affection from a previous owner to do such a repair.

It looks Somalia/Sudanese area to me. Pre 1900.-- bbjw

First example of this type I have seen. Very interesting! I cannot see any characteristics about it that instantly give it away from a specific culture. So I’m anxious to see what others have to say about it, and hopefully you will get a accurate answer.

African spears can often be difficult to attribute (sometimes impossible), however there are a few basic pointers :-

a) Blades with sockets are to be found north of the Zambesi (though there are some exceptions). Tanged spears south of the Zambesi.

b) Incised geometric engraved decoration usually means Islamic influence.

c) Throwing spears tend to longer, lighter and slender. Stabbing spears shorter, with wider blades and more robust.

d) Spears with brass/copper blades or more than one point are normally for prestige, currency, magical/religious use.

e) The diamond shaped brass or copper pieces pined through the shaft as on Tim's spear are typical of spears from northern Nigeria and Cameroon.

As for age - maybe late 19th century to WW2 period ?

Hope this helps.

Thank you all for your replies and advice, it’s appreciated. I have a few more items I’ll post up in due course.

I’ll keep subscribed to this thread in the hope one day it’ll be identified to a certain area / region.

Many thanks

Al