Nice African Spear For Comment?

Lew · 24th May 2005, 05:06 AM

Hi Guys

This arrived today. It looks to be a very well made African spear the head is beautifully forged with a brass mesh collar. The only sad thing was the seller had to cut the shaft down to avoid charging me over $150 shipping from the U.K. something about oversized boxes? Well I was able to shave down the longer half of the shaft but lost 18" of its original length

The good thing is even though its shorter it does not look that bad

I did a some research and I think it could be Ethiopian or Somalian? Well here are some pics let me know what you think?

Lew

Conogre · 24th May 2005, 05:57 AM

Very interesting... for whatever it's worth, I find that the majority of Afican spearheads with tangs are from S. Africa, with most central and N. African pieces socketed.
Yours almost has the appearance of being from the Philippines or Indonesia, from what I'm able to discern from the photos.
While the woven brass would be fairly consistent with the Zulu or at least the Zulu nation, the brass ferule and the clear, concise forging makes me think that it might be from the Philippines, but I'll wait and see what Freddy has to say.
At any rate, congratulations and DO NOT succomb to emptation and take just one practice throw at a tree.....getting it back out can be VERY challenging, to say the least!

Mike

tom hyle · 24th May 2005, 02:07 PM

The blade almost exactly resembles some Ethiopian military spears I have that came out of the arsenal at Addis Ababa. There are only two differences that I see: first, and lesser, is that mine have a hard, smooth, black, deliberately made original patina of some sort remaining on most of their surfaces, while this one looks like bare metal(?); second is that my Ethiopian spears are socketted, not tanged.

Lew · 24th May 2005, 04:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tom hyle

The blade almost exactly resembles some Ethiopian military spears I have that came out of the arsenal at Addis Ababa. There are only two differences that I see: first, and lesser, is that mine have a hard, smooth, black, deliberately made original patina of some sort remaining on most of their surfaces, while this one looks like bare metal(?); second is that my Ethiopian spears are socketted, not tanged.

Tom

I think this spear is socketed if you mean that the shaft goes into the head rather than a tang being pushed into the wood similar to Moro spears?

Lew

Freddy · 24th May 2005, 08:18 PM

I think Lew is right when he says Ethiopian or Somalian. In the book 'African Arms and Armour' by Christopher Spring p 103. A couple of similar spears are depicted.

Besides the drawing is the following text :

"Somali and Danakil spear heads. Such blades often have a double concavity on either side of a raised median ridge though in less sophisticated exemples an impression of this structure is created on a flat surface simply by polishing a stripe of bright metal between two blackened segments."

Perhaps your spear head was a bit overpolished by its former owner.

Lew · 24th May 2005, 09:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Freddy

I think Lew is right when he says Ethiopian or Somalian. In the book 'African Arms and Armour' by Christopher Spring p 103. A couple of similar spears are depicted.

Perhaps your spear head was a bit overpolished by its former owner.

Freddy

The photo was taken with flash which tends to give the blade a silvery look but in regular light it has a greyish/blue gun metal look to it. The blade is not polished. I also purchased a very nice Tuereg spear but this time I was able to have the seller take apart the spear for easier and much cheaper shipping will post pics when it arrives.

Lew

tom hyle · 25th May 2005, 03:26 AM

Now I see; the brass is applied over the socket, rather than as a ferule on the shaft.

Tim Simmons · 26th May 2005, 04:00 PM

Hi Lew, I would have replied earlier, but my PC is being worked on so I am making weekly visits to the library PCs.I agree with all that has been mentioned but would like to add that it could also have come from areas to the exteme south of Ethiopia .Uganda or even southern Sudan.It is from a time when borders were far from internationaly established.I am eager to make new posts when I get my PC back.Shame it had to be cut,nice blade.Tim.

24th May 2005, 05:06 AM	#1
Lew (deceased) Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: East Coast USA Posts: 3,191	Nice African Spear For Comment? Hi Guys This arrived today. It looks to be a very well made African spear the head is beautifully forged with a brass mesh collar. The only sad thing was the seller had to cut the shaft down to avoid charging me over $150 shipping from the U.K. something about oversized boxes? Well I was able to shave down the longer half of the shaft but lost 18" of its original length The good thing is even though its shorter it does not look that bad I did a some research and I think it could be Ethiopian or Somalian? Well here are some pics let me know what you think? Lew Attached Images

24th May 2005, 05:57 AM	#2
Conogre Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Clearwater, Florida Posts: 371	Very interesting... for whatever it's worth, I find that the majority of Afican spearheads with tangs are from S. Africa, with most central and N. African pieces socketed. Yours almost has the appearance of being from the Philippines or Indonesia, from what I'm able to discern from the photos. While the woven brass would be fairly consistent with the Zulu or at least the Zulu nation, the brass ferule and the clear, concise forging makes me think that it might be from the Philippines, but I'll wait and see what Freddy has to say. At any rate, congratulations and DO NOT succomb to emptation and take just one practice throw at a tree.....getting it back out can be VERY challenging, to say the least! Mike

24th May 2005, 02:07 PM	#3
tom hyle Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Houston, TX, USA Posts: 1,254	The blade almost exactly resembles some Ethiopian military spears I have that came out of the arsenal at Addis Ababa. There are only two differences that I see: first, and lesser, is that mine have a hard, smooth, black, deliberately made original patina of some sort remaining on most of their surfaces, while this one looks like bare metal(?); second is that my Ethiopian spears are socketted, not tanged.

24th May 2005, 08:18 PM	#5
Freddy Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Sint-Amandsberg (near Ghent, Belgium) Posts: 830	I think Lew is right when he says Ethiopian or Somalian. In the book 'African Arms and Armour' by Christopher Spring p 103. A couple of similar spears are depicted. Besides the drawing is the following text : "Somali and Danakil spear heads. Such blades often have a double concavity on either side of a raised median ridge though in less sophisticated exemples an impression of this structure is created on a flat surface simply by polishing a stripe of bright metal between two blackened segments." Perhaps your spear head was a bit overpolished by its former owner.

25th May 2005, 03:26 AM	#7
tom hyle Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Houston, TX, USA Posts: 1,254	Now I see; the brass is applied over the socket, rather than as a ferule on the shaft.

26th May 2005, 04:00 PM	#8
Tim Simmons Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: What is still UK Posts: 5,807	Hi Lew, I would have replied earlier, but my PC is being worked on so I am making weekly visits to the library PCs.I agree with all that has been mentioned but would like to add that it could also have come from areas to the exteme south of Ethiopia .Uganda or even southern Sudan.It is from a time when borders were far from internationaly established.I am eager to make new posts when I get my PC back.Shame it had to be cut,nice blade.Tim.