African small dagger

Flavio · 3rd August 2005, 07:39 PM

Hi all, this is my last acquisation (sorry for the auwul picture

).
I never see something like this before, but on the excellent site www.mambele.be there is a quite identical dagger attributed generically to the tribe So, Topoke, Mba, Lokele

http://www.mambele.be/knife_detail.p...r=0331&rowno=2.

Anyway it's sure that the spiky blade remembers the Tetela knife.
Any comments are welcome

.

Tim Simmons · 3rd August 2005, 07:59 PM

Hi Flavio,
For an ebay seller that is a very good picture you can see clearly what is on offer. Great knife, I really like the shape of the blade, one of the wonderful things about African knives is that they can look as if they where made for a "Star Treck" episode. Shame about the damage, you might be able to do something about that when you get your hands on it. I have made copper strips to repair some copper binding from plumbing pipe. I have yet to find one of these angular pointed knives. Tim

Flavio · 5th August 2005, 12:23 PM

Thank you Tim. About the damage on the handle, i don't try to repair it because i think that the damages are a part of "Knife life" so I usually leave the weapons as i receive them, I only clean the blade from the rust to prevent more damages.
I'm more for a preservative restoration than for a reconstructive restoration.

Lew · 5th August 2005, 01:06 PM

Hi Flavio

Nice dagger! The loose binding can be tightened up but I won't add any new binding on it just won't look right.

Lew

Tim Simmons · 5th August 2005, 01:28 PM

I just have to add that I only interfere with something if I feel absolutely sure I can do it without detection. Tim

Flavio · 5th August 2005, 05:24 PM

Hello guys, what do you think about that these small dagger are attributed to the women, I mean purposely constructed for women like the small Mangbetu daggers.
Mine is long 23.5 cm

Freddy · 5th August 2005, 06:46 PM

You could be right. The smaller daggers can be attributed to women, while the larger ones are for men. Anyway, this is true for the Mangbetu dagger.

About the dagger you showed us : it could also be from the Zande or Boa tribes. They used daggers very similar to the ones of the Mangbetu.

I don't think it's a Tetela as these daggers often have a metal loop at the top of the handle.

Flavio · 5th August 2005, 06:56 PM

Hello Freddy, i'm agree with you: i don't think that is a tetela knife but you know that tribes located in near areas could influence themselves one each other. What do you think about the attribution of the site www.mambele.be ?

Freddy · 5th August 2005, 07:28 PM

The site you mentioned is one of the sources where I looked for a similar knife. I also tried to find an answer in one of my books.
You should bear in mind that a lot of these knives were traded amongst these tribes, so sometimes it's difficult to place them.

3rd August 2005, 07:39 PM	#1
Flavio Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Italia Posts: 1,243	African small dagger Hi all, this is my last acquisation (sorry for the auwul picture ). I never see something like this before, but on the excellent site www.mambele.be there is a quite identical dagger attributed generically to the tribe So, Topoke, Mba, Lokele http://www.mambele.be/knife_detail.p...r=0331&rowno=2. Anyway it's sure that the spiky blade remembers the Tetela knife. Any comments are welcome . Attached Images

3rd August 2005, 07:59 PM	#2
Tim Simmons Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: What is still UK Posts: 5,739	Hi Flavio, For an ebay seller that is a very good picture you can see clearly what is on offer. Great knife, I really like the shape of the blade, one of the wonderful things about African knives is that they can look as if they where made for a "Star Treck" episode. Shame about the damage, you might be able to do something about that when you get your hands on it. I have made copper strips to repair some copper binding from plumbing pipe. I have yet to find one of these angular pointed knives. Tim

5th August 2005, 12:23 PM	#3
Flavio Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Italia Posts: 1,243	Thank you Tim. About the damage on the handle, i don't try to repair it because i think that the damages are a part of "Knife life" so I usually leave the weapons as i receive them, I only clean the blade from the rust to prevent more damages. I'm more for a preservative restoration than for a reconstructive restoration.

5th August 2005, 01:06 PM	#4
Lew (deceased) Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: East Coast USA Posts: 3,191	Hi Flavio Nice dagger! The loose binding can be tightened up but I won't add any new binding on it just won't look right. Lew

5th August 2005, 01:28 PM	#5
Tim Simmons Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: What is still UK Posts: 5,739	I just have to add that I only interfere with something if I feel absolutely sure I can do it without detection. Tim

5th August 2005, 05:24 PM	#6
Flavio Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Italia Posts: 1,243	Hello guys, what do you think about that these small dagger are attributed to the women, I mean purposely constructed for women like the small Mangbetu daggers. Mine is long 23.5 cm

5th August 2005, 06:46 PM	#7
Freddy Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Sint-Amandsberg (near Ghent, Belgium) Posts: 830	You could be right. The smaller daggers can be attributed to women, while the larger ones are for men. Anyway, this is true for the Mangbetu dagger. About the dagger you showed us : it could also be from the Zande or Boa tribes. They used daggers very similar to the ones of the Mangbetu. I don't think it's a Tetela as these daggers often have a metal loop at the top of the handle.

5th August 2005, 06:56 PM	#8
Flavio Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Italia Posts: 1,243	Hello Freddy, i'm agree with you: i don't think that is a tetela knife but you know that tribes located in near areas could influence themselves one each other. What do you think about the attribution of the site www.mambele.be ?

5th August 2005, 07:28 PM	#9
Freddy Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Sint-Amandsberg (near Ghent, Belgium) Posts: 830	The site you mentioned is one of the sources where I looked for a similar knife. I also tried to find an answer in one of my books. You should bear in mind that a lot of these knives were traded amongst these tribes, so sometimes it's difficult to place them.