Object Details
- Label Text
- Knives and other weapons in Africa can serve practical purposes in hunting, farming and warfare. However the weapons that were most often collected by foreigners and indeed those that were prized and displayed in Africa were those whose real use was ceremonial and status display. Tetela knives tend to be relatively narrow and angular, even spiked. The hilts are often embellished with brass and copper, either in sheet form such as on this knife or by being wrapped in wire. Generally this type of knife is not attributed as being from the Tetela forest heartland but from the Sungu group that live along the Songye peoples.
- Description
- Iron dagger blade, composed of a crescent hilt with shaft, dot textured copper alloy sheeting and a long, smooth conical end.
- Provenance
- Glen Rhodes, McLean, Virginia, -- to 2002
- Published References
- Hurst, Norman. 1997. Ngola: The Weapon as Authority, Identity, and Ritual Object in Sub-Saharan Africa. Cambridge: Hurst Gallery, pp. 30-31, no. 38.
- Content Statement
- As part of our commitment to accessibility and transparency, the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art is placing its collection records online. Please note that some records are incomplete (missing image or content descriptions) and others reflect out-of-date language or systems of thought regarding how to engage with and discuss cultural heritage and the specifics of individual artworks. If you see content requiring immediate action, we will do our best to address it in a timely manner. Please email nmafacuratorial@si.edu if you have any questions.
- Image Requests
- High resolution digital images are not available for some objects. For publication quality photography and permissions, please contact the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives at https://africa.si.edu/research/eliot-elisofon-photographic-archives/
- Data Source
- National Museum of African Art
- Maker
- Tetela artist
- Date
- Late 19th-early 20th century
- Credit Line
- Gift of Dr. Glen Rhodes
- Medium
- Iron, copper alloy, wood
- Dimensions
- H x W x D: 38.1 x 5.8 x 2.8 cm (15 x 2 5/16 x 1 1/8 in.)
- Type
- Sculpture
