Help with a sword: Tibet???

Jim McDougall · 16th June 2014, 01:33 AM

This one is really interesting, and total deja vu! I got of these, virtually identical about 15 years ago and it was identified as 'Tibetan' using the fabled 'Oldman' catalog as a reference. A quick bit of research found an identical example in a Tribal Arts magazine in an article by curator of a Belgian museum, with it being placed in Dahomey (now Benin) . The example had been collected by a French officer in the 1850s it seems.

A check in "African Arms and Armor" found similar examples listed in the article on Dahomean arms by Palau Marti (plate in Spring). In the article by Marti there is one identical, I believe even the wavy lines, identified as one of the range of these weapons known as 'hwi'

In inconclusive research I believe the wavy lines may have to do with the snake in the pantheon of folk religion in those regions, but these seem to have what appear to be dentations which seem to make these like the arcs of sickle marks in linear motif.

There was a good deal of dispute on whether these were Tibetan or African I believe mostly due to the Oldman entry, and I believe one other London dealer's catalog. However the Belgian museum and author as well as the Marti article in my opinion compellingly placed these as Dahomean Hwi .

I cannot recall all the details, but these I think may have been carried by the King (of Dahomey)s female warriors ( termed Amazon's by western visitors .

16th June 2014, 01:33 AM	#3
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,191	This one is really interesting, and total deja vu! I got of these, virtually identical about 15 years ago and it was identified as 'Tibetan' using the fabled 'Oldman' catalog as a reference. A quick bit of research found an identical example in a Tribal Arts magazine in an article by curator of a Belgian museum, with it being placed in Dahomey (now Benin) . The example had been collected by a French officer in the 1850s it seems. A check in "African Arms and Armor" found similar examples listed in the article on Dahomean arms by Palau Marti (plate in Spring). In the article by Marti there is one identical, I believe even the wavy lines, identified as one of the range of these weapons known as 'hwi' In inconclusive research I believe the wavy lines may have to do with the snake in the pantheon of folk religion in those regions, but these seem to have what appear to be dentations which seem to make these like the arcs of sickle marks in linear motif. There was a good deal of dispute on whether these were Tibetan or African I believe mostly due to the Oldman entry, and I believe one other London dealer's catalog. However the Belgian museum and author as well as the Marti article in my opinion compellingly placed these as Dahomean Hwi . I cannot recall all the details, but these I think may have been carried by the King (of Dahomey)s female warriors ( termed Amazon's by western visitors .