What is it !!!? Ideas, comments please
 

Hello,
Just seen this in a village auction. I thought it looked interesting but have little knowledge of edged weapons. Any ideas on what it is and from where would be welcome.

Looks like a telek or gozma carried by the Tuareg or Hausa But those that know African daggers better than I do will chime in soon I think

Agree! :)

Thanks Sajen for confirming I have not been on the boards in a long while so my memory could have been way off

Tony since if you can find a copy of it Armes traditionnelles d'Afrique ( by Tristan Bastide I think ) would be a good place to look and maybe African Arms and Armour by Spring

It's an arm dagger likely made in Bida by the Nupe. The all brass hilt and scabbard is distinctive.

nice tuareg telek (arm dagger).

What is it !!! ?
 

Thanks for the replies. I live in Cyprus so objects like this are likely to turn up from time to time. I like it so I will put a bid on it. Thanks Again

Thanks Iain I tend to lump them as Toureg though I know I should not.Its a bad habit. There are so many groups in that area. I do not know enough to know Taureg from Fulani from Hausa from Nupe et al. So always great to learn more from someone who does know the differences.

Hi Rhys Michael,

Happy to help out, lumping all western Sahel items under the Tuareg banner is a common issue not helped by the extensive intermingling of these communities. :)

Thankfully there are a few cases where we can be more sure. This being one of them as there's a direct illustration in "Cultural Areas of Nigeria" by Hambly.

Salaams Tony PP ~ Why has the decorated brass arm band got uniformally made holes in it and is this the traditional style of arm band or is this a band taken from another item like a coffee pot ? :)

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

No they are not made from coffee pots. Just like other decoration on weapons the motifs come from a regional cultural pool. Here is one with no holes. The strange thing is that although most of these; although common are superbly made with a blade you could almost bend back to the handle and let go like a spring and carrying great artist merit, are not appreciated in the "market" . Where as just as common items with considerably less skill and artistic mastery command silly high prices. All this contradiction in values is starting to ruin my enjoyment of collecting.[

What Tim said, not made from repurposed items. Bida in Nigeria had and has a long tradition of brass working, and was famed throughout the Sahel for their products.

Decorative motifs are something I wish we discussed even more here. I learn from it every time it is discussed. And often times it gives a great insight into what ethnic group an item actually comes from.

Salaams Tim Simmons ~ Thank you for posting those superb examples and apologies for not knowing the details ... :shrug: We live and learn !! I immediately dived into my little library and have come up with a number of African designs which I will shoot and post... Some of them are talismanic and others tell different stories..Shukran !!

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.