Object Details
- Label Text
- While the donor described this knife as Zande, other sources have identified the distinctive round blades as Gobu. Implements such as hoes, as well as throwing knives and other weapons, serve a utilitarian function. In some cases these objects were also used as currency. Other evidence suggests, however, that they were emblems of office or status carried in dances or at other ceremonial occasions, and were not currency at all. Fabricated from copper, bronze, iron and brass, these objects constitute some of the most dramatic and varied of African currency forms.
- Currency derived from the thowing knife came in many shapes and sizes, but its distinctive feature is the complexity in the orientation and size of its blades. These flattened shapes, often very thin, posed technical challenges to the blacksmith, whose work required considerable skill and craftmanship. In addition, many of the throwing knives were elaborately decorated, sometimes on the blades and other times only on the handles.
- Throwing knives are reported to have been used for bridewealth. Bridewealth is the exchange of currency or valuable goods and services to acknowledge all that the bride brings to her husband and his family, including the hope of descendants.
- Description
- Y form iron throwing knife with two round projections at tip and spur near handle, which is wrapped in reed.
- Provenance
- Eliot Elisofon, New York, -- to 1973
- Exhibition History
- Africa ReViewed: The Photographic Legacy of Eliot Elisofon, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., November 21, 2013-December 14, 2014
- Published References
- Staples, Amy J. 2014. "Africa ReViewed: The Photographic Legacy of Eliot Elisofon." Tribal Art 19 (2), no. 71, pp. 88-89, nos. 16a-b.
- 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 Please note that some records are incomplete (missing image or content descriptions) and others reflect out-of-date language or systems of thought regarding how to engage with and discuss cultural heritage and the specifics of individual artworks.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
- Gobu artist
- Date
- Early 20th century
- Credit Line
- Bequest of Eliot Elisofon
- Medium
- Iron, reed
- Dimensions
- H x W x D: 45.3 x 27.6 x 1.0 cm (17 13/16 x 10 7/8 x 3/8 in.)
- Type
- Sculpture
