African spear for ID

[Iain]

Originally Posted by colin henshaw

Thanks Iain,

I can't be of much help on this one unfortunately - and can only offer a few observations :-

Those engraved decorations and angled ridging are quite common on knives and spears from the Congo area, as is the strip copper wrap and the use of brass upholstery tacks.

However the cross-piece element is atypical, as is the pronounced narrow mid-rib. In fact, the whole profile of the blade, reminds me of European polearms/halberds...

Its a very long shot, and most likely not the case here, but I have once seen a Congo knife made in the form of a mediaeval European dagger. Probably a commission by a Belgian colonial to a native blacksmith. But I mention this just in passing.

Hopefully another forumite can give a clearer attribution to the spear.

Regards,
Colin

Hi Colin,

Many thanks for the comments. I'm just starting in on Congo items so its all a bit new to me.

I seem to recall also seeing copies of Portuguese swords from the Congo coast. As you say, this could be a case of a native copy of a European polearm.

The blade shape puzzled me as well. The midrib isn't a feature I recall seeing in Congo spears really, and looks more like something from Sudan or the Sahel (although I'm sure it isn't in this case).

Hopefully other forumites who collect in these areas will be able to shed some light on it.