Knobkerrie but not sure of from where
 

Hi
Just picked this up.

Not Zulu as the head tapers on to the handle gently as opposed to where the shaft is squared off to the head on Zulu examples

long at 32 inch and the ball is only around 2 inches in diameter
wood is V v dense and it sinks like a stone in water

so I think somewhere between Northern south Africa and Mali but the timber density might help narrow down a bit

any other ideas

Regards

Ken

Nice piece. Possibly Lignum Vitae?

Looks to me as further north and east. This is an eastern form. The little piece on the top can found from Tanzania/Kenya to the South Sudan.

Thank you both
Would you have any idea as to possible age but I realise there is nothing to go on.
Also are these clubs also called Knobkerries
Regards
Ken

The Swahili word for this type of club is rungu, it is most famously used by the Masai but also by other people groups of Eastern Africa

- ADS

Hi Ken, yes they are also called knobkerries, a term that seems to date from the early 19th C among English reports.