African Oliphant

[Tim Simmons]

Horn/bugle, There are in "Stone" so should be okay here. Found this today in a place I have visited almost every month or two for years that has never yielded anything, then today bang! To me it seems to be from the North Nigeria and westward, Mali and so on. Need not be that old, Sokoto and other cities did not fall to the British until 1903. The decoration is rather reminiscent of textiles and leather work from the region. 42cm long in a straight line end to end. Note the circle link in the chain with a cross in the centre. Look at this link,

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...hlight=chinese

I was not making it up. I wish I could find more on this symbol relating to African metalwork. The horn is a light thin wall casting really rather good. The skill needed to make this in bees wax and cast so well, I take my hat off. I work in a hard petroleum based wax which will take fine detail or machining.

I can hear the horns blasting, the mail and horse trappings jangling, trade guns firing, feel the heat and dust.