Ethnographic Arms & Armour

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-   -   Indian or African? all metal lance. (http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=3626)

Tim Simmons 24th November 2006 05:06 PM

Indian or African? all metal lance.
 
9 Attachment(s)
I have been lucky just lately :) . That will probably end soon :( . The cost of shipping with bad pics must of helped. I bought this thinking it was African maybe Congo or West Africa. It could be Asian, Indian. The way the decoration around the handle part spreads out and dissipates in a subtle way makes me think if it is Asian I would think it was from the North East Frontier wild tribes as they used to say. Personally I think this kind of subtly is more African :eek: . I need some help on this one. I favour Africa but I would :rolleyes: . The total length is just over 152cm. The blade is 18cm long. The brass parts are approximately 4cm in diameter. It is heavy and could deliver a tremendous thrust.

katana 24th November 2006 07:10 PM

Well done Tim,
I saw this...and liked it alot....fortunately I changed priorities and blew the budget elsewhere (I'm not comfortable bidding against fellow formites....hence 'fortunately).

I felt it was more likely Indian, .....but where ever it came from...it's a very nice spear.....congrats... ;)

Any idea as to the function of the two rings......perhaps to hold the ends of a strap/rope for carrying purposes :shrug:

Tim Simmons 24th November 2006 07:57 PM

The rings are only free to move up untill the middle section swelling or handle. I could bet my last £ it is African, there is a challenge for you all ;) .

katana 25th November 2006 12:10 AM

Hi, Tim....am I right in saying that lances often had a form of sling ... to take alot of its weight. I was thinking that the rings were moveable, fixing points for some sort of sling. Even if the lance/spear was carried on foot.....when 'advancing with spears extended....with the sling over your shoulder (spear holding side) it would take a lot of the weight of the spear from the warrior..... would not impede the use of the spear in a thrusting action, due to the sliding rings, but would still have the weight to inflict devastating wounds.

I would love for this to be African.......still think its Indo-Persian :shrug:

Lew 25th November 2006 12:56 AM

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I am steering more towards African the spear is nice but does not exhibit the finesse a an Indo Persian weapon.

Below is an Ivory coast spear which I think could be Dan tribe.

Lew

Tim Simmons 25th November 2006 08:24 AM

Yet again something new from Africa. This lance weighs in at just under 2.5kg. It is quite possible a sling of some sort was used with the two rings.

Lew that is a fine lance indeed. How heavy is it? I bet mine is bigger and more weighty than yours :D :D :D .

Lew 25th November 2006 10:04 AM

Tim

My spear is hollow with some type of bead rolling around inside the shaft section weight maybe 2lbs a thrower for sure.

katana 25th November 2006 02:33 PM

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Hi Tim,
some images of Indian lance butts and a spear with similar decoration near spearhead.....although spearhead shape not an exact match.

Tim Simmons 25th November 2006 03:08 PM

There are some good pictures in, A Tirri's book. The shapes do have some similarity. I base my opinion more on the decoration. It is possible that it could be, as I said from the wild tribes of the North East Frontier where the subtle or what some might say more primitive decoration would be apt. But even there I think the blade looks a little more African to me. The decoration on the shaft reminds me of some of the markings seen on Congo spear shafts in particular.

katana 25th November 2006 03:22 PM

I agree.....the spearhead does look African.......but there seems to be an Indo-persian influence with primative decoration. If African....could it not be from the North ? would explain the 'influences'....... and seeing as the Toureg are famed for their all metal lance/spears ....... :shrug:

Tim Simmons 25th November 2006 04:27 PM

Without doubt there are plenty of weapons in Africa influenced by Indo/Persian and Arab forms. Take the Mahdist period weaponry, this may even be from that epoch.

Tim Simmons 25th November 2006 07:31 PM

The brass lump near the blade must be to stop the target accepting too much of the lance when you think of the force it could deliver. :eek:

Tim Simmons 26th November 2006 10:19 AM

Could this be a "saintie" like weapon? surely it is too long and is not made to parry with. I still think the decoration is too informal for Indian work. But I know very little about old Indian weapons.

Tim Simmons 29th November 2006 04:46 PM

I have read the rules
 
I think I am allowed to make this link. If I am wrong then please delete this post. This spear confirms my opinion that it is African and to be more precise Western Sahara. The spear in the link is labeled as Asian. In my opinion it is Mauritanian, African anyway. shame I have no money left.

http://www.michaeldlong.net/Ko-Bespo.../E3/131/103807

Lew 29th November 2006 04:56 PM

[QUOTE=Tim The spear in the link is labeled as Asian. In my opinion it is Mauritanian, African anyway. shame I have no money left.

Don't be sad Tim :( I to suffer from the same disease it's called Fundsarlow syndrome :eek: and it affects many of us here on the forum ;) ;) :D

Lew

Tim Simmons 29th November 2006 05:53 PM

A most ghastly affliction. I hope some medicine arrives on my work bench very soon. :shrug:

VANDOO 1st December 2006 09:12 PM

TAKE A LOOK IN STONES PAGE 213 FIGURE 264 IT IS A SPEAR FROM TIBET REFERED TO AS DUNG. THE INFORMATION ON SOME OF ITS USES IS INTERESTING AND IT HAS THE CARRING STRAP. I DON'T THINK YOURS IS FROM TIBET AND HAVE SEEN EXAMPLES OF THE SHORT SPEARS WITH CARRING STRAP IN AFRICA THEY DO SEEM TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH RIDEING EITHER CAMMELS OR HORSE. ALSO LOOK AT STONES PAGE 536 FIGURE 685 FOR ANOTHER STRANGE SHORT SPEAR TYPE WEAPON.

Tim Simmons 9th December 2007 08:16 PM

Mandara?
 
Brought this back up after some cross referencing. Look at the blade in this post by Fernando. The blade form, decoration and brass work do have a remarkable similarity. It would be nice if this was so as I have just ebay'd what I hope is a very nice 33" blade Mandara sword.

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...hlight=mandara

Jim McDougall 9th December 2007 10:38 PM

I think Vandoo's note on the carrying rings is very well placed, especially in noting these are also present in African spears as well as Tibet. I will say that my first inclination in looking at the decorative bulbs on the spear were that they seem Indian. This is much in accordance with David's notes and the illustrations he posted.
I do agree however, that this work is pretty rough for the work from India, even the village work, which I think avoided such elaborate decoration.

I would submit that possibly this is African work, intended to replicate such weapons from India. There seems of course considerable influence in many African weapons that certainly derives from the Subcontinent, and is most likely associated in degree with the profound trade in key centers such as Zanzibar. The Red Sea trade of course also entered through Ethiopian centers which also carried weapons from Indian sources. It would not seem unlikely that an African smith seeking to emulate the much finer quality spears of India might produce such work. This is not to suggest that African smiths were necessarily less adept, as overall the weapons of Africa often reflect beautiful workmanship. However, like all skilled work, the range of quality varies greatly.

It seems also that the diamond geometric with central dots is something I've seen on African weapons.

All best regards,
Jim

Bill M 10th December 2007 01:37 PM

Another thread showing my Sang or Sangu. Some similarities.

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...highlight=sang

Tim Simmons 10th December 2007 07:49 PM

Intesting Bill. Sort of what one would expect from India?

Tim Simmons 10th December 2007 09:05 PM

Bill, I was just about to retire for the night when I had a thought. Does your sang like thing really look Indo/Persian? I am not completely sure. The work reminds me of some Mauritanian metalwork. I can show metalwork from Africa that might make us change our minds but it will have to wait for now.

Bill M 10th December 2007 09:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim Simmons
Bill, I was just about to retire for the night when I had a thought. Does your sang like thing really look Indo/Persian? I am not completely sure. The work reminds me of some Mauritanian metalwork. I can show metalwork from Africa that might make us change our minds but it will have to wait for now.

I think it is, but can't be sure. I'll go see if I can find it in my Pants.

Tim Simmons 10th December 2007 09:13 PM

Ha ha!! :D :D

Bill M 10th December 2007 09:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim Simmons
Ha ha!! :D :D


Well, the problem is there is no appendix in my Pants. :D But I'll keep looking. :confused:

Pusaka 11th December 2007 06:59 PM

When I first opened this post and looked at the photos before reading my thoughts were Africa, thats where my bet would be.

Tim Simmons 14th November 2008 04:33 PM

Two Mandara blades
 
4 Attachment(s)
Took some time.


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