West African dagger

[Yvain]

Hi all !


I bought this nice dagger this weekend, however, I'm having some questions regarding its origin.


Indeed, most collectors would consider it to be an Hausa dagger, and similar pieces are described as such in many private online collections.


However, while doing some research, I found some very similar pieces in the Quai Branly collections described as being from Cameroon (either from the Fulbe or Bamoun ethnic group), as you can see here :


-https://www.quaibranly.fr/fr/explorer-les-collections/base/Work/action/show/notice/219464-couteau


-https://www.quaibranly.fr/fr/explorer-les-collections/base/Work/action/show/notice/220803-couteau-et-fourreau


-https://www.quaibranly.fr/fr/explorer-les-collections/base/Work/action/show/notice/219465-couteau-et-fourreau


-https://www.quaibranly.fr/fr/explorer-les-collections/base/Work/action/show/notice/220804-couteau-et-fourreau


-https://www.quaibranly.fr/fr/explorer-les-collections/base/Work/action/show/notice/241813-couteau-et-gaine


So, Hausa, Fulbe, or Bamoun ? Niger and Nigeria or Cameroon ? Or maybe this is a style that spanned multiple ethnic groups and geographical areas ?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts !