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Throwing knife / Prestige object (Sengese)
Mafa
mid-20th century
Object Place: Cameroon
Medium/Technique
Metal
Dimensions
Overall: 57.2 cm (22 1/2 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Timothy Phillips
Accession Number2006.2045
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAfrica and Oceania
ClassificationsWarfare, hunting, fishing – Swords, daggers, knives
The blacksmiths of the so-called Kirdi people of the Mandara mountains of northern Cameroon and eastern Nigeria produced a fascinating variety of knives that share the general outlines of the F-shaped throwing knives of Chad. Too heavy to be thrown, these sengese knives were reserved for use as hand weapons and prestige symbols. Sengese blades are often engraved on both sides. The smith who made this piece crafted a brilliantly exaggerated curved stem that is unusual among this style of blade, although the MFA holds a second, similar knife (2006.2045).
ProvenanceBetween 2000 and 2006, acquired by Timothy Phillips, Boston [see note]; 2006, year-end gift of Timothy Phillips to the MFA. (Accession Date: January 24, 2007)
NOTE: Probably purchased from a dealer in Paris, Brussels, or New York.
NOTE: Probably purchased from a dealer in Paris, Brussels, or New York.