16thC African Sword

B.I · 25th April 2007, 12:40 PM

I thought I knew the London collections quite well, but know I tend to visit the same pieces and ignore the fields that dont necessarily interest me. So, I had never been to the African galleries in the basement of the BM. I happened down there today, in search of an answer to a friends question, and stumbled across a 16thC sword from the Kingdom of Konga. Severe Potuguese/Spanish influence (or even heritage, as the blade seems very European). Its hidden far behind glass, and is annoyingly displayed in front of patterned textiles, which confuses my digital camera.
But, it is definately very old and a sword with substantial presence. From its form and look, and have little doubt that the age attribution is correct.
Is anyone familiar with this sword, or ones like it from the same period in Africa?
The description card doesnt mention any provenance, and from the accession number, I think it a relatively recent aquisition. It just mentions the Portuguese in the Konga during this period.

25th April 2007, 12:40 PM	#1
B.I Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 485	16thC African Sword I thought I knew the London collections quite well, but know I tend to visit the same pieces and ignore the fields that dont necessarily interest me. So, I had never been to the African galleries in the basement of the BM. I happened down there today, in search of an answer to a friends question, and stumbled across a 16thC sword from the Kingdom of Konga. Severe Potuguese/Spanish influence (or even heritage, as the blade seems very European). Its hidden far behind glass, and is annoyingly displayed in front of patterned textiles, which confuses my digital camera. But, it is definately very old and a sword with substantial presence. From its form and look, and have little doubt that the age attribution is correct. Is anyone familiar with this sword, or ones like it from the same period in Africa? The description card doesnt mention any provenance, and from the accession number, I think it a relatively recent aquisition. It just mentions the Portuguese in the Konga during this period.