A Very Fine Gilê
A Very Fine Gilê
Afar or Dir Clan (Issa or Gadabuursi)
French Somaliland (Djibouti) - Ethiopian Empire (Ethiopia) - Italian Eritrea (Eritrea)
Late 19th century (ca. 1880 - 1900)
Steel, rhinoceros horn, silver, leather
Blade: 26,7cm
Hilt & Blade: 39,4cm
Hilt, Blade, Sheath: 45,1cm
Collection Date: 2023
Collection Number: 361
A very fine dagger unique to the Horn of Africa with both Arab and Ethiopian influence intertwined. It is often carried by the Afar, Issa, or other northern Somali nomadic tribes. It is regarded as a symbol of Djibouti.
Having a curved steel double- edged blade with a thick medial ridge separating two central fullers. The blade is closely related to Yemeni jambiya blades. The hilt carved of rhinoceros horn of fine granular structure. Richly worked silver mounts, including a band of silver filigree, silver diamond shaped and floral studs, and a silver crown pommel. The leather sheath with heavy whole silver and worked filigree throat and chape, ending in a silver fluted pommel bulb.
This is a very fine example of the type and one of the best that I have come across, though with some minor condition issues. Nevertheless, a true work of art by Djiboutian craftsmen. The quality silver work and blade style is reminiscent of Yemeni influences, just across the Gulf of Aden.