Thanks to those who commented on this item. The handle is beautifully constructed, and here is a close-up. Thin layers of horn and zinc/zinc alloy ? Must have been difficult to do.
Also posting a couple of old images of posed photos of Somali warriors from the late 19th century, for interest. The explorer Richard Burton describes Somaliland tribal weapons in his book from the 1850s "First Footsteps in East Africa", for anyone who likes Somali material.
Some peculiarities I have often noticed with Somali iron blades - they can develop distinctive patchy rust pitting and light remains of file marks are commonly left on the metal. Anyone have observations on these points ?
Regards.
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