Lew Waldman's Ethnographic Arms & Armour Collection Archive


85 - African Zulu Wooden Club, Mid 20th Century

The maker of this club skillfully shaped it so that the handle is composed of dark heart wood with lighter colored sap wood forming the expansion of diameter into the head and the darker heart wood again exposed as the diameter tapers at the end. Lew attributed this club to the Zulu and dated it as circa 1940 to 1950. Rather than having a near spherical head, this club expands to form a ridge with a diameter of about 2½ inches (6.4 cm) as the diameter diminishes towards the end. A few narrow cracks running radially and lengthwise are present in the head where there is also a grain defect ensuing from a branch origin. The club weighs about 16¾ ounces (488 grams).




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