Hi Ian,
This is a very nice dagger of the Vere or Bata people from eastern Nigeria and northern Cameroon. These daggers were purely ceremonial, the scabbard and hilt are entirely of cast brass. According to Chappel et al. (2021) the Vere word for dagger is "wek" and this variety with human heads and figures may have been called specifically "wek wan marus."
Here are other similar examples:
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...highlight=Vere
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...highlight=Vere
source: Chappel et al. 2021.
Surviving Works: context in Verre arts Part Two, Chapter Five: Towards a Verre catalogue raisonnée 5.4: Hoes and daggers
- ADS