Early Tuareg Knife

This knife is a bit of a puzzler. Long a treasured object in the private collection of Joseph Knopfelmacher, the dagger is a tour de force marriage of a finely detailed handle in lost-wax cast-copper alloy onto a blacksmith-forged iron blade. Knopfelmacher’s collection focused on a variety of subject matter, from Ethiopian liturgical material to collections of West African iron and bronze. Two areas of special interest were Tuareg artifacts, and bronzes from Burkina Faso and Mali.

This unusual knife employs a fabrication technique practiced by the Dyula (Dioula or Juula) of Burkina Faso, with a finely detailed handle capped by a tripartite finial that suggests a relationship to classic Tuareg blades and camel saddles. The Tuareg are masterful metalsmiths, but they form their knives and swords on the anvil — with riveting, laminating, and hammer-in sizing — and not (to my knowledge) by casting bronze onto iron. It is possible that the knife is from a region or ethnic group other than the two mentioned. Time will tell. $425

11″ without base

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