A Fine Darfur Arm Dagger
A Fine Darfur Arm Dagger
Fur - Nuba or surrounding neighbors
Nyala Area, Darfur - Nuba Hills, Anglo- Egyptian Sudan (South Darfur - South Kordofan, Sudan)
Early 20th century (ca. 1920 - 1935)
Wood, elephant ivory, steel, leather, crocodile skin
Blade: 12,4cm
Hilt & Blade: 22,5cm
Hilt, Blade, Sheath: 26,7cm
Collection Date: 2021
Collection Number: 444
Ex. Harry Wagner Collection: Columbus, Ohio, USA (2021)
A fine Sudanese arm dagger of good quality from the Fur or Nuba people between South Darfur and South Kordofan Region. Similar examples are attributed to the Fur in the Southern Darfur capital of Nyala in the British Musuem, with a few examples found east into the Nuba Hills of South Kordofan used by the Nuba. Comparative arm daggers with slightly different forms are found further north in Al Fashir used by the Fur and further south used by the Azande. They all represent this same style that uses lower segments of ivory hilts, circle- dot, and linear decorations that distinguish them from the "Khartoum" style of longer wooden hilts with more slender sheaths.
The steel blade is double- edged with a prominent central ridge separated by two offset fullers with chamfered edges. The hilt is carved from wood, with the lower half composed of elephant ivory and a disc- shaped pommel ending in an ivoy bulbed pommel cap. Red tooled leather sheath and crocodile skin. The leather decorated in stamped designs attached with a braided leather arm loop. A fine, well- made example in excellent condition.