19TH C TETELA CONGO AFRICA CEREMONIAL TOOLED IRON SPEAR HEAD, W/CARVED HANDLE

Description

MID-LATE 19TH CENTURY
'TETELA'
CONGO, CENTRAL AFRICA,
AUTHENTIC,
ORIGINAL CEREMONIAL HAMMERED & TOOLED IRON SPEAR HEAD,
W/HAND CARVED ATTACHED HANDLE
(Circa 1875-1895)
Antique African hand forged battle spears
DIMENSIONS:
24" Length x 8" Width (Widest point) x 7 ½" Handle's length
DESCRIPTION:
Offered is this incredible, hammered and tooled, completely hand-forged, mid to
late 19th century
Tetela,
Congo (Central Africa) iron spear head with carved wooden handle.
The remaining length of the spear appears to have been lost at a much earlier date, as the spear is intact to the point about a few inches before the palm stop on the wooden handle, allowing the thrower to launch the spear into the air or to hold it upright, clearly to intimidate any adversary on the battlefield or to comfortably hold while in ceremonial ritual. The front face of the spear's iron blade has a scraped pointed form and within this form are hammered, pointed marks, clearly the result of the blade being hand decorated and tooled. The sharp point of the spear head abruptly opens up and widens as it proceeds downward to the wooden handle. This was an ominous and deadly battle instrument and would have sown panic and fear into any adversary. This was an unrivaled killing machine in its day.  You wouldn't want to have been on the receiving end of this blade. This was no toy or simply ceremonial instrument, solely designed for the pageantry of formal tribal rituals. This was a matter of life and death for the people who designed these objects and their families, land and very survival depended upon how lethal and deadly they really were. Incredible form and as incredible surfaces make this
mid to late 19th century antique
Tetela,
Congolese
spear head as beautiful as it is formidable. Killing machines as art and as cultural artifacts. Magnificent.
CONDITION:
Very Good to Excellent overall antique condition.