Zulu Knobkerry

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Originally Posted by kronckew

or is it?

not your normal zulu/shona wood head knocker, drilled steel/iron ball on a bicoloured wood shaft with a steel ferrule end, wood has incised line carvings of various shapes and objectsrather than fancy wirework.
auction description:
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a long length, heavy antique, hand carved wooden ethnographic, Knobkerrie war club

Origin: Believed to be Zulu

Measures 93 cm long, steel ball diameter 56 mm, maximum shaft diameter 29.5 mm

Weight 835 grams

Hand carved from a natural tree branch, hand carved decoration to the handle end of the club, the handle fitted with a heavy cast steel ball and on the narrow end of the club with a steel cap

Very good original condition, slight natural curve to the wood, no splits or cracks, no woodworm.
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is it african? patina on ball looks old, but...
the carved patterns do not ring a bell with me hopefully one of y'all might have a flash of inspiration.

looking at t5he ferrule end, which is open, it appears to be made from a bicolored wood, possibly assegai wood. looks like it could do with a wash - and the ball may need re-cementing.

(i also make/collect walking sticks - happened to be looking for a drilled steel ball to make one for myself when i ran across this one while searching, will sve me the effort now. )

thanks in advance for any comments.

The only thing I suspected was that this was some sort of Irish club but the name had gotten into African folklore ... wrong on both counts. I had to look it up and found a not too confusing account on Wikepedia...

Quote" A Knobkierie, also spelled knobkerrie, knopkierie or knobkerry, is a form of club used mainly in Southern and Eastern Africa. Typically they have a large knob at one end and can be used for throwing at animals in hunting or for clubbing an enemy's head. The knobkierie is carved from a branch thick enough for the knob, with the rest being whittled down to create the shaft.

The name derives from the Afrikaans word knop, meaning knot or ball and the Nama (one of the Khoekhoe languages) word kierie, meaning cane or walking stick. The name has been extended to similar weapons used by the natives of Australia, the Pacific islands and other places.

Knobkieries were an indispensable weapon of war, particularly among southern Nguni tribes such as the Zulu (as the iwisa) and the Xhosa. Knobkieries was occasionally used during World War I. The weapon also being carried by British soldiers in Siegfried Sassoon's fictionalised autobiography.

Knobkieries are still widely carried, especially in rural areas, while in times of peace it serves as a walking-stick. The head, or knob, is often ornately carved with faces or shapes that have symbolic meaning.

The knobkierie itself serves this function on the current South African Coat of Arms and on the Order of Mendi for Bravery. A knobkierie also appeared on the flag of Lesotho 1987-2006, the Coat of Arms of Lesotho since its independence in 1966 as well as the Coat of Arms of the Republic of Ciskei.'Unquote.


I found some more for comparison; One shows how the weapon is made.

[kronckew]

having a few assorted actual zulu iwisa, including a nice bicolor wired wound one along with a wire wound iklwa, and a few isizenze, i am well versed in what they are, tho the above will be informative to the unfamiliar.

i just acquired another, this one has a male bamboo haft with a silver slightly fluted collar at the foot, the ball is according to the auction house, a cast steel cannon round shot that has been drilled for entry of the haft. unlike the earlier one which is drilled all the way thru, this one is only drilled part way and is a tad heavier. the haft is roughly 1 1/8 in. in dia. cane is 35 in. long overall. the ball is a hair under 2 in. and the same as the earlier one, tho this one shows signs of a polished down casting seam. it appears to be painted black, in military fashion EVERYTHING gets painted. the old saying for recruits is 'if it moves salute it, if it doesn't, paint it'.

one could have been a one-off custom, two look like the start of a production line. designation by an esteemed auction house as a 'cannon shot' is another titbit of mounting info.

when was solid ball shot of two in. dia. in use? possibly grape or cannister? two in. grape was widely used in larger naval cannon, haven't heard of anything that large in ground pounder artillery cannister shot tho.

the thick plottens.
(a spoonerism)