Akan knife and sheath
Akan knife and sheath. The sheath has a shell and a lead model of human teeth attached to it. The red-dyed shell is characteristic of Baule culture (from the Ivory Coast), while the human jaw is more typical of the Akan people (from present-day Ghana) and suggests a trophy attached to the knife to indicate the power of its owner. Before European contact, Akan peoples had migrated into Baule territory and there were extensive trade connections between the Akan and the Baule. It is likely that this knife and sheath are the result of cultural interactions: either the knife was purchased by Akan traders from the Baule who then added the jaw, or the Akan had influenced the Baule in the making of this artefact.
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Object Details
ID: | ZBA2487 |
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Collection: | World Cultures; Special collections |
Type: | Knife |
Display location: | Display - Atlantic Gallery |
Creator: | Unknown |
Date made: | circa 1800 |
Exhibition: | The Atlantic: Slavery, Trade, Empire; Exploration and Cultural Encounters |
Credit: | National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, Michael Graham-Stewart Slavery Collection. Acquired with the assistance of the Heritage Lottery Fund |
Measurements: | Knife: 35 x 245 x 57 mm |
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