BAULE, IVORY COAST, SHEATH KNIFE

6 1/2" hammer finished spear point blade. Tapered wood grip with expanded terminal. Finely stitched leather scabbard with belt loop, and red dyed sea shell opposite. That feature is specific and unique to Baule knives. See Metropolitan Museum of Art #1977.251.5a,b, for another example. In this example, a receipt in French, printed and hand filled in dated 1939, is wrapped in cloth and concealed within the shell. The Baule resisted French colonization for decades and it is likely that the knife predates the enclosure significantly, probably dating to the late 19th century. As with many other African groups, the Baule kept slaves to perform agricultural and other menial jobs. They both captured and purchased slaves.