Prestige blade
Kru People, Liberia
Iron
18.5″ (47 cm) high by 3″ (10 cm) wide
19th century
Ex. Arnold Crane collection, Chicago
A graceful ribbed prestige blade from the Kru people with an encrusted patina and a long lost wooden handle. Similar blades have been also attributed to the neighboring Grebo, Dan, Ngere, and Baule people. See photo from “Panga Na Visu” of a similar knife being held by a high status tribesman, along with a drawing of a complete knife. See two similar examples published in “Afrikanische Waffen” (1978).
$1200
