is this a common dagger?

Conogre · 6th March 2005, 05:35 PM

I would have to say that it's a VERY rare piece as, to the best of my knowledge, this is the only one that's ever been presented in this forum and I've cetainly never seen one like it offered for sale before.
The possibilitues are almost limitless, from purely ceremonial to sacrificial to homage.
As noted, the snakes are highly important in many African cultures (and other continents as well), particularly among the Yaruba nations(?), while the combination of brass and male and female, immediately makes me think of the Dahomey that even had an Amazon army of sorts, known as "The Kings Wives" that were known to be crack fighters.
While the shape is not like anything I've seen in knives from Benin, the male/female and animals crawling to and away from the figures is often seen on the back of some of the larger swords and often conveys a story or meaning.
In my opinion that's a piece that you might want to take special care of.
Mike

Conogre · 6th March 2005, 06:32 PM

For whatever it's worth, on page 64, figure 54-1 of Spring's "African Arms and Armor", the top weapon shown is a dagger with a long, pointed blade and a snake guard.
It's not a match by any means, but it does show that the blade style isn't out of the question for a Dahomey origin.
Good luck....I like it.
Mike

fearn · 6th March 2005, 06:45 PM

As with everyone else, my first impression was "African, but I've never seen anything like it before." My second impression was, "the weird things about this are a) the rigid triangularity of the blade and handle, which has a European flavor, and b) the primitive nature of the hilt figurings. They're kind of crude, and it looks the decorations could have been made almost by two sets of leather punches."

The second impression suggests cult work, but my suggestion is that we expand our possibilities to the African diaspora, especially Haitian Voudou and Brazilian Candomble. Either would account for the Yoruba influence (twin figures and snakes), and also a European influence (geometry). I've never seen anything like this out of Haiti or Brazil, but couldn't they be possibilities?

I'd also suggest that the knife might be relatively recent 20th century stuff.

Fearn

6th March 2005, 05:35 PM	#1
Conogre Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Clearwater, Florida Posts: 371	I would have to say that it's a VERY rare piece as, to the best of my knowledge, this is the only one that's ever been presented in this forum and I've cetainly never seen one like it offered for sale before. The possibilitues are almost limitless, from purely ceremonial to sacrificial to homage. As noted, the snakes are highly important in many African cultures (and other continents as well), particularly among the Yaruba nations(?), while the combination of brass and male and female, immediately makes me think of the Dahomey that even had an Amazon army of sorts, known as "The Kings Wives" that were known to be crack fighters. While the shape is not like anything I've seen in knives from Benin, the male/female and animals crawling to and away from the figures is often seen on the back of some of the larger swords and often conveys a story or meaning. In my opinion that's a piece that you might want to take special care of. Mike

6th March 2005, 06:32 PM	#2
Conogre Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Clearwater, Florida Posts: 371	For whatever it's worth, on page 64, figure 54-1 of Spring's "African Arms and Armor", the top weapon shown is a dagger with a long, pointed blade and a snake guard. It's not a match by any means, but it does show that the blade style isn't out of the question for a Dahomey origin. Good luck....I like it. Mike

6th March 2005, 06:45 PM	#3
fearn Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 1,247	As with everyone else, my first impression was "African, but I've never seen anything like it before." My second impression was, "the weird things about this are a) the rigid triangularity of the blade and handle, which has a European flavor, and b) the primitive nature of the hilt figurings. They're kind of crude, and it looks the decorations could have been made almost by two sets of leather punches." The second impression suggests cult work, but my suggestion is that we expand our possibilities to the African diaspora, especially Haitian Voudou and Brazilian Candomble. Either would account for the Yoruba influence (twin figures and snakes), and also a European influence (geometry). I've never seen anything like this out of Haiti or Brazil, but couldn't they be possibilities? I'd also suggest that the knife might be relatively recent 20th century stuff. Fearn