Object Details
- Sotho artist
- Label Text
- Nineteenth century Sotho warriors kept their distinctive crescent battle axes while adding guns and horses to their army. Through statemanship and military strategy, they were never disarmed by either neighboring African peoples or by Boer or British colonial forces.
- Description
- Axe in the form of a crescent-shaped metal (probably iron) blade attached with a spike from the concave side through the spherical top of a plain curving wood shaft.
- Provenance
- Ernst Anspach, New York, -- to 1964
- Content Statement
- As part of our commitment to accessibility and transparency, the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art is placing its collection records online. Please note that some records are incomplete (missing image or content descriptions) and others reflect out-of-date language or systems of thought regarding how to engage with and discuss cultural heritage and the specifics of individual artworks. If you see content requiring immediate action, we will do our best to address it in a timely manner. Please email nmafacuratorial@si.edu if you have any questions.
- Image Requests
- High resolution digital images are not available for some objects. For publication quality photography and permissions, please contact the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives at https://africa.si.edu/research/eliot-elisofon-photographic-archives/
- Credit Line
- Gift of Ernst Anspach
- Mid-19th-mid-20th century
- Object number
- 64-5-4
- Restrictions & Rights
- Usage conditions apply
- Type
- Sculpture
- Medium
- Wood, iron
- Dimensions
- H x W x D: 74.9 x 12.7 x 5.1 cm (29 1/2 x 5 x 2 in.)
- Geography
- Kafue-Upper Orange River region, South Africa
- See more items in
- National Museum of African Art Collection
- National Museum of African Art
- Topic
- Warfare
- Male use
- male
- Record ID
- nmafa_64-5-4
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ys71386b2da-8421-441e-a8a7-db5ec2357e8f
