Yaka (Mbeeli Ya Phoko) Sword
Yaka (Mbeeli Ya Phoko) Sword
Yaka or Suku
Yaka Kingdom - Kwango District, Congo Free State - Congo- Kasaï, Belgian Congo (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Late 19th - Early 20th century (ca. 1890 - 1925)
Steel, wood, leather, iron, vegetal fiber, metal alloy
Case Width: 21 1/4" (54cm)
Case Height: 28 5/8" (72.7cm)
Case Depth: 3 3/8" (8.6cm)
Collection Date: 2026
Collection Number: 520
Ex. Dargate Auction Galleries: Blairsville, Pennsylvania, United States (2026)
A Mbeeli Ya Phoko sword used by the Yaka and Suku people of Southwestern Congo and the Angola border region. The flat double- edged steel blade has two linear patterns of incised dot decorations along its center and incised 'X' patterns in between.
The hilt with a wooden interior bound in a leather exterior. The middle segment incorporates an openwork crown- like basket composed of curved twisted iron rings. The base of the hilt with two notched metal alloy spacers. A large iron pommel is present at the end.
Massive paddle- shaped sheath with a wooden interior covered in leather. A carrying strap made from plaited vegetal fiber is tied to the sheath. The sword is mounted in a large display cases of a beige fabric lining, an ornate wooden frame, and a glass protective face. An old and quality example of the Yaka sword with a large sheath displayed nicely in its personal case from the previous collector.
Photograph 7: From "Beauté Fatale. Armes d' Afrique Centrale. 1992. Page 246.
[2] “Beauté Fatale. 1992. Armes d’ Afrique Centrale”. Page 246 – 253, Cat 501
[3] W. O. Oldman. December 1904. “Illustrated Catalogue of Ethnographic Specimens”. List No. 21; Item #12 (4271)
[4] Spring, Christopher. 1993. “African Arms and Armor”. Page 64
[5] https://www.weltmuseumwien.at/en/objects/sword-455292
[6] https://prm.ox.ac.uk/collections-online#/item/prm-object-79576
[7] https://prm.ox.ac.uk/collections-online#/item/prm-object-81466
[8] https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/objects/142325
[9] https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/objects/124055
[10] https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/E_Af1910-0420-615-a
[11] https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/E_Af1907-0528-151-a
[12] https://collections.penn.museum/collections/object/352797
[13] http://www.oriental-arms.co.il/item.php?id=189
[14] http://www.oriental-arms.co.il/item.php?id=980
[15] http://www.oriental-arms.co.il/item.php?id=7236
[17] https://africanarms.com/gallery?10-yaka-55cm-with-scabbard-64-cm