Chieftain Triple Dagger Set
Chieftain Triple Dagger
Nilotic - Fur - Mahdist
Likely Omdurman - Khartoum, Mahdist Sudan - Anglo- Egyptian, Sudan (Sudan)
Late 19th century (ca. 1890 - 1900)
Steel, wood, reptile skin, brass, tin, leather
Blades:
Side Daggers: 14 1/4" ( 36.8cm)
Center Knife: 10" (25.4cm)
Hilt & Blade:
Side Daggers: 21 1/4" (54cm)
Center Knife: 14 1/2" (36.8cm)
Overall Length: 23 1/2" (59.7cm)
Collection Date: 2021
Collection Number: 231
Ex. Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates: Mt. Crawford, Virginia, United States (2021)
From the Wallace Gusler Collection: Williamsburg, Virginia, United States (Renowned colonial gunsmith)
A Sudanese triple dagger set housed within a crocodile sheath, popular during the Mahdist uprisings across Sudan during the late 19th century. These types of large sets were worn around the neck of chiefs and were used for talismanics and ceremonial risings before battle. In form and style, attributed to the Fur People whose forces along with the Baggara, Beja, and Sudanese Arabs were the backbone of the Mahdist movement that eventually captured the capital city of Omdurman until the fall in 1898 to British- Egyptian forces.
This example likely originates from the twin Nile cities of Omdurman and Khartoum, Sudan. After the war campaign in 1898, weapons were then sold to British and foreign tourists as "exotic" items in the city markets along with captured Mahdist trophies from the Battle of Omdurman. Dated to around 1900 or shortly beforehand.
The large set consists of three daggers. The side daggers are curved double- edged iron sheet metal blades with acid- etched thuluth calligraphy mounted on wooden (possibly ebony) hilts with flared guards and pommels, ending in bulbed prongs. Decorated with brass wire wrappings on the center grips and prongs. "W. GUSLER" is written on both hilts near the blades in marker over white paint.
The center dagger is a typical Sudanese style arm dagger, though with larger proportions and of very good quality. The wide, double- edged steel blade has a deep central fuller. At the ricasso, a stamp of four engraved chevrons in a squared pattern with horizontal engraved lines are present. The hilt is carved from African blackwood in a beautiful two- tone of light and dark colorations, with a flared guard, and disc- shaped pommel. The tang secured by a jagged circular tin cap. The central grip is bound in decorative brass wire having four concentric carvings. "W. GUSLER" is written on the hilts near the blade in marker over white paint. The large sheath housing of crocodile scales, the lower section of reptile (monitor) skin. A leather loop is sewn into the back side.
Sudanese crocodile sets are found in many variations of differing qualities. This example is above average for the type with associated provenance from the late Mr. Wallace Gusler Collection.
Wallace Gusler — "Wallace Gusler is a master artisan, historian, and consultant who is widely recognized as the first person in modern times to recreate all traditional 18th-century longrifle-making processes entirely by hand. He dedicated 41 years of service to the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, serving as its first master gunsmith, a curator, and the director of conservation. Through his pioneering work and educational media, he played a foundational role in reviving the lost art of American muzzleloader gunsmithing”.
Photograph 29: Photographic postcard, titled “Soudan” — Groupe de guerriers”, depicting Sudanese warriors.
Photograph 30: Archival photograph of a Mahdist warrior (Ansar), 1881 -1898, Sudan.
[1] https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/north-african-set-of-three-blades-94e4c64a4c (This Knife)
[2] ES Thomas: Catalog of the ethnographical museum of the Royal Geographical Society of Egypt. 1924; pg.56,57, fig 163
[3] Meinhof, Carl. “A study trip to Kordofan”. Pg. 63, fig. 43 coll. 1914
[4] https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/E_Af1978-22-481-a-c
[5] https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/E_Af1978-22-481-d
[6] http://www.oriental-arms.co.il/item.php?id=776
[7] http://www.oriental-arms.co.il/item.php?id=6731
[12] http://www.africanarms.com/gallery?arfur-tripple-dagger-48-cm
[13] http://www.africanarms.com/gallery?sudan-ceremonial-dagger-57-cm
[14] https://african-weapons.com/gallery?curved-mahdist-dagger-41-5-cm
[15] https://african-weapons.com/gallery?unusual-big-mahdist-dagger-58-5-cm
[15] http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=16476&highlight=three-dagger+sets