Ingessana Sai
Ingessana / Nuba / Nuer-Berta
Dar Funj - Sennar, Anglo- Egyptian Sudan (South Kordofan, Sudan)
Late 19th century - Early 20th century
Steel, vegetal fiber, wood, leather
Blade: 58,7cm
Hilt & Blade: 77,5cm
Hilt, Blade, Sheath: -cm
Collection Date: 2025
Collection Number: 475

Ex. Oriental Arms: Haifa, Israel (2025)
Ex. Ethan Rider: Oakland, California, USA (2025)
Ex. Canterbury Auction Galleries: Canterbury, UK (2017)
Ex. Captain T.E. Hearn

The sai, or "snake" derived from its common shape, is the traditional prestige blade in the form of a throwing knife belonging to the Ingessana of Blue Nile in Sudan. The blade was used by adult males as a rite of passage and male fashion accessory. This blade comes from the collection of Captain T.E. Hearn of the Essex Regiment, attached to the Sudan Defense Corps (1927-1929). In a photograph showing nine blades on display in his home in Khartoum, this blade appears third from the left.

The blade is produced from steel in the form of a snake (sai) and elaborately covered almost entirely with symbolic motifs including incisions of linear, cross-hatched designs incorporating geometric diamonds, X's, and zig-zag patterns throughout. Vegetal fiber remains attached to the crossbar. The grips are covered with wooden strips bound by leather.

A rare blade with great provenance and history attached. It is very rare for the vegetal fiber to be still attached as the fiber on most examples tend to be lost. The British Museum has a few great examples within their collection having the fiber still intact.

[1] https://oriental-arms.com/product/set-of-large-ingessana-throwing-knives-with-important-provenance-sudan/

[2] https://galleryrider.com/index.php/african-art/archive/throwing-knives/prestige-knife-sai-ingessana-sudan-kordofan

[3] https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/a-collection-of-nine-early-20th-century-sudanese--a0d4f4d892

[4] http://www.oriental-arms.co.il/item.php?id=3304

[5] https://galleryrider.com/index.php/addenda/personal-collection/prestige-knife-sai-ingessana-sudan-kordofan

[6] https://africanarms.com/gallery.html?ingessana-67-5-cm

[7] https://africanarms.com/gallery.html?2-x-ingessana-72-88-cm

[8] https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/E_Af1928-0409-21

[9] https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/E_Af-4388

[10] https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/E_Af-7832

[11] https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/E_Af1905-201