Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post - Knobkerries x2 , ID and comments welcome.

katana · 16th January 2010, 07:21 PM

Hi,
have recently obtained two knobkerries....one is of a very hard, close grained wood 58cms long (22 3/4 inches) The head is a 'flattened' ball ... widest 3.5 cms. I have assumed this is Zulu or surrounding tribes.

The larger, is a heavy dense wood, great patina ...some damage to the 'head' which appears to be very old (jeweller's loupe). Hand carved shaft/head with grooved carving at the handle end. Head is 'off-set' from the shaft ...some 'age cracks'. OAL 29.5 inches (75cms), head diameter 3 inches (7.5 cms) Judging by the patina etc I can easily see this being late 19th C .

Is Zulu a likely source for this knobkerrie ?

All comments greatly appreciated.

Thank you David

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16th January 2010, 07:21 PM	#1
katana Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Kent Posts: 2,658	Knobkerries x2 , ID and comments welcome. Hi, have recently obtained two knobkerries....one is of a very hard, close grained wood 58cms long (22 3/4 inches) The head is a 'flattened' ball ... widest 3.5 cms. I have assumed this is Zulu or surrounding tribes. The larger, is a heavy dense wood, great patina ...some damage to the 'head' which appears to be very old (jeweller's loupe). Hand carved shaft/head with grooved carving at the handle end. Head is 'off-set' from the shaft ...some 'age cracks'. OAL 29.5 inches (75cms), head diameter 3 inches (7.5 cms) Judging by the patina etc I can easily see this being late 19th C . Is Zulu a likely source for this knobkerrie ? All comments greatly appreciated. Thank you David . Attached Images