"Knobkerrie Zulu Club"
A nice Zulu
'iwisa' or
'knobkerrie'. The name is derived from the Afrikaans word
knop, meaning
knob or
ball and the Khoekhoe or San word
kirri, meaning walking stick. It's a traditional weapon among the Zulu who even lobbied to be allowed to carrie them in public. Apart from ceremonial and hunting purposes they were also used as close combat weapons. The variants with larger spherical heads were also used for executions. Also the Nguni and Xhosa tribes used them. Made of dark hardwood with the spherical knob in two tones. The 41cm shaft is embellished with two segments of finely plaited copper and brass wire. A solid item in very good condition. To be dated between 1900 and 1920.
LITERATURE
A knobkierrie with wire work showing a similar pattern is illustrated in Phillips (2004, p.210)