SUDAN ? SPEAR WITH CHAINS & COINS

thinreadline · 17th January 2012, 12:30 PM

Here is a curiosity & favourite from my collection . I believe it is from the Sudan but have never known exactly what is is for. It is a short spear 30 cm in total , shaft covered in crocodile skin . The butt is of carved wood to which is attached a series of chains each terminating in a coin. It makes a splendid jangle when shaken , so I wondered if it was part of some dancing regalia ? Your opinions eagerly sought .

colin henshaw · 18th January 2012, 02:01 PM

Hi

I'm not really certain what this is - except to say I had a pair of similar pieces some years ago. An old collector at the time told me they were dance implements from Kordofan (Sudan). I've never seen any references and would be interested to know of any...

Regards.

Andy Stevens · 18th January 2012, 02:08 PM

We second the dance wand notion, seem to remember a post on the original forum way back when... interesting object.

Iain · 18th January 2012, 02:13 PM

Dance spear certainly makes sense to me.

The coins should be Egyptian.

http://www.anythinganywhere.com/comm...pics/egypt.htm

Of course a closeup of the coin can probably reveal the date to one of our resident Arabic readers. Of course with the caution the coins could be much older than the overall piece.

Atlantia · 18th January 2012, 02:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iain

Dance spear certainly makes sense to me.

The coins should be Egyptian.

http://www.anythinganywhere.com/comm...pics/egypt.htm

Of course a closeup of the coin can probably reveal the date to one of our resident Arabic readers. Of course with the caution the coins could be much older than the overall piece.

I agree with Iain that the coins may be older than the item itself. They appear to have the Ottoman Tugra on them.
You should be able to ID them fairly easily. They look late to me, I'd guess they are for Abdulhamid II 1842-1918.

thinreadline · 18th January 2012, 03:20 PM

Thanks all of you ... that ties in with what I had believed. Here is a clearer pic of a coin with date if someone can translate .

Atlantia · 18th January 2012, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thinreadline

Thanks all of you ... that ties in with what I had believed. Here is a clearer pic of a coin with date if someone can translate .

Yep, you've got 1277 Hijira which I make 1860.
If my maths is right, then Abdulhamid II didn't take the throne until 1878 so the Tugra might be Murad V?
Assuming the date is the date of minting and not a generic date?

Iain · 18th January 2012, 03:42 PM

Seems to conform with a 10 qirsh piece, 1861-76.

http://www.icollector.com/images/166..._0437_2_lg.jpg

EDIT: Oop I see someone got the date for you.

17th January 2012, 12:30 PM	#1
thinreadline Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Wirral Posts: 1,204	SUDAN ? SPEAR WITH CHAINS & COINS Here is a curiosity & favourite from my collection . I believe it is from the Sudan but have never known exactly what is is for. It is a short spear 30 cm in total , shaft covered in crocodile skin . The butt is of carved wood to which is attached a series of chains each terminating in a coin. It makes a splendid jangle when shaken , so I wondered if it was part of some dancing regalia ? Your opinions eagerly sought . Attached Images

18th January 2012, 03:20 PM	#6
thinreadline Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Wirral Posts: 1,204	Thanks all of you ... that ties in with what I had believed. Here is a clearer pic of a coin with date if someone can translate . Attached Images

18th January 2012, 02:01 PM	#2
colin henshaw Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 1,430	Hi I'm not really certain what this is - except to say I had a pair of similar pieces some years ago. An old collector at the time told me they were dance implements from Kordofan (Sudan). I've never seen any references and would be interested to know of any... Regards.

18th January 2012, 02:08 PM	#3
Andy Stevens Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: London Posts: 155	We second the dance wand notion, seem to remember a post on the original forum way back when... interesting object.

18th January 2012, 02:13 PM	#4
Iain Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Olomouc Posts: 1,693	Dance spear certainly makes sense to me. The coins should be Egyptian. http://www.anythinganywhere.com/comm...pics/egypt.htm Of course a closeup of the coin can probably reveal the date to one of our resident Arabic readers. Of course with the caution the coins could be much older than the overall piece.

18th January 2012, 03:42 PM	#8
Iain Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Olomouc Posts: 1,693	Seems to conform with a 10 qirsh piece, 1861-76. http://www.icollector.com/images/166..._0437_2_lg.jpg EDIT: Oop I see someone got the date for you.