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African Art / Works from the Swiss collection of Walter Schwab

Wednesday 13 October 2021, 05:00 PM • Milan

72

SOMALI Somalia, region of the Horn of Africa

Estimate

€ 500 - 600

Sold

€ 1.216

The price includes buyer's premium

Information

Knife: 45.5cm tall; Sheath: 27cm tall
Knife with sheath.
Local name: billawo.
Symmetrical double-edged blade made with steel. Handle made of bone that ends in a metal cone. The leather sheath is decorated with strips of hind. It was attached to the waist as a weapon for show by Arab males.It was used not just as a defensive weapon and for war, but also for hunting and domestic use.

Literature

CARDELLI ANTINORI ALESSANDRA & HOHENEGGER MARGHERITA, Lo Splendore del Guerriero: Le armi africane antiche del Museo Pigorini, Roma 1999, pag. 14 (billawo) (642);