African ethno sabre for coments

fearn · 17th August 2008, 05:24 PM

Hi All,

Interesting piece. Thought I'd throw a couple of observations in. First off, the hilt seems to appear to be a different critter depending on which way you look at it, so perhaps the relevant question is, which way was it intended to be observed? I'm guessing from the side, which would suggest it's not supposed to be a cobra.

Second observation: it's possible to get A bird list for Mali. There are three confirmed hornbill species for Mali, of which the Abysinnian Ground Hornbill appears to be the only resident. The picture from Wikipedia is attached. To me there is a resemblance between bird and hilt, but only from the side.

While I'm not going to argue that the hilt is solidly representational, I personally think it's more hornbillish than not. If you believe this website to the Dogon, the hornbill is a psychpomp (escort for the souls of the dead) that also stands for the continuance of human life. There's also artwork for snakes (such as the god Lebe), hyenas, and lizards, none of which are terribly representational. Still, to me it looks like a bird.

My 0.0000002 cents,

F

17th August 2008, 05:24 PM	#20
fearn Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 1,247	Hi All, Interesting piece. Thought I'd throw a couple of observations in. First off, the hilt seems to appear to be a different critter depending on which way you look at it, so perhaps the relevant question is, which way was it intended to be observed? I'm guessing from the side, which would suggest it's not supposed to be a cobra. Second observation: it's possible to get A bird list for Mali. There are three confirmed hornbill species for Mali, of which the Abysinnian Ground Hornbill appears to be the only resident. The picture from Wikipedia is attached. To me there is a resemblance between bird and hilt, but only from the side. While I'm not going to argue that the hilt is solidly representational, I personally think it's more hornbillish than not. If you believe this website to the Dogon, the hornbill is a psychpomp (escort for the souls of the dead) that also stands for the continuance of human life. There's also artwork for snakes (such as the god Lebe), hyenas, and lizards, none of which are terribly representational. Still, to me it looks like a bird. My 0.0000002 cents, F Attached Images