Root ball knobkerrie from a Zulu collection...or is it ?
 

Hi,
just got 'hold' of this knobkerrie, made from a rootball. Fantastic old glossy patina with tooling marks. Was told that this came from a collection of Zulu items and is 19th C , the patina certainly seems to support the age....but Zulu ? It was also described as being approx 2kgs in weight !!! That is a hefty 'lump' !! I worked out the density (approx via the photos and measurements) and found it was almost equal to CAST IRON ....now, I have heard that a small number of knobkerries had lead (molten poured into a cavity in the 'knob') and believed that this could explain the 'extreme' weight. So I took a risk and bought it.

When it arrived ......it only weighed approx 500g :( ....a quarter of the stated weight. It seems that sending items through 'Royal Mail' makes you lose weight.......so forget all these diets, package yourself up and send yourself through the mail (preferably to a warm country) so when you arrive....the new slimmer you can grab a tan ....to compliment the 'new look' you. :rolleyes: ......I might even patent the new 'Royal Mail diet' :D

Disappointed about the weight....but is this possibly Zulu or SA or even African ?

If anyone recognises the wood....it would be a great help.

All comments gratefully received ......any one who wants to use the new 'Royal Mail Diet' PM for prices :rolleyes: :D

Kind Regards David

Hi David.

Not more 'local' is it?
Difficult to judge the length but it kind of looks like it could be a rustic root ball walking stick of the 'Shillelagh' variety.

Did you mention the 'slight' discrepancy in weight to the seller?

Best
Gene

P.S. As to the wood. Id have guessed hawthorn or blackthorn :shrug:

Hi Gene :) ,
yes I've contacted seller (only received the club today) so do not have a reply as yet.

OAL is 30" (76cms), the almost conical head is unusual ....many of the Shillelaghs I have seen tend to have a slightly ofset 'knob' or a 'hammer' type head, also they tend to have the remains of the thorns on the shaft.
Seller, was told that the wood was a form of oak (I checked and found there are oak species in SA) and that a SA friend (of the seller) had apparently ID'ed as Zulu.

I have seen images of 'rough hewn' /hand carved knobkerries ID'ed as Zulu or surrounding tribes ...I will try and find them. But, if I remember correctly none had this 'conical' type head.

Best
David

PS you've been a very busy boy just recently :cool: , love some of your new 'Acquistions'

Hi David

Its difficult to judge from a photograph....but I am fairly sure its not South African. I've seen East African clubs "rungu" with a similar form, but usually with a smoother finish. Might well be a European cudgel of some type.

Regards.

Hi David,

76cm would work as a walking stick.
TBH I was thinking of a non-Irish, club/walking stick of the Shillelagh type.

English even?
A folksy rustic whacker!

Could be wrong of course. Just my first impression.


LOL, yeah I've overspent horribly this month!! :(

I tend to agree with Colin in East Africa, how far north or south is another matter. The smaller one is 76cm long.

Thank you Colin and Tim for your comments :)

In searching for the images of the alleged Zulu knobkerries that were 'hand carved' I came across this from Fagan Arms......

NGUNI KNOBKERRY

Southeast Africa. 19 1/4 length. The head incorporating the root cluster and finely carved in the shape of a rhino horn base...... A distinct step separates the head from the haft which is a polished natural stem including its shoot nubs, forming a fascinating juxtaposition with the meticulously shaped head. Excellent with fine patina. The Nguni occupied territory south of the Zulu and adopted Shakas cultural and military practices to conquer and assimilate their neighbors in the 19th century migrations known as mfecane. Zulu artifacts owe their survival to English occupation but 19th century Nguni weapons are rarely encountered.

Picture below.............does seem very similar...although mine is darker, the grain patterning is also comparable.

Hi David,

That's rather similar to the one I have .
There are similar examples also on the Bay too. The interesting thing for me is the wood. It reminds me of bur walnut.
They all also seem to have that distinctive step.

Best
Gene

For some reason I too thought of shilela, which, BTW should also be made of roots, and thus, AFAIK, have no thorns. Root wood is known for being tougher. I don't doubt people make shilleghlas out of blackthorn shaft rather than root, but it's improper/untraditional according to my reading.
In a further demonstration of the essential "Western"ness of African culture, shillela and knob kerrie seem to be pretty much similar items, and both are sometimes shaped by attaching iron bands to a growing root and growing the knob around them. Main difference other than local wood seems to be size of knob being more often greater on African pieces, but I've seen some pretty big shilleghla heads, too.
Contrast to American Indian clubs of similar shape, BTW, seems to me to be in the narrow flexible, even whippy shaft, while the American ones tend to be more thick and stiff.

I have contacted the seller with reference to the provenance. The seller is a retired Antique dealer of some 25 years. He has assured me that the knobkerrie was part of an South African collection from a country house and that it was ID'd by a individual (name supplied) whom was...." ex Military Police - South African Defence force and social historian. "
I have requested some form of written provenance ...but it now seems certain to be South African ...and likely Nguni. As I cannot find any similar shaped knobkerries attributed to the Zulu or Shona

The wood was described as 'stink oak' .....the nearest I can find is 'stinkwood' which is a known SA knobkerrie wood.

All the Best
David