Zulu Wood Knobkierrie or Club, Based

Smooth sphere, straight shaft, and a long history of being carried.

Known as a knobkierrie, this club was carved by the Zulu peoples of South Africa in the 20th century. Men carried such clubs in daily life and used them in hunting, in fighting and in dance, and they remain a familiar emblem of male standing.

The spherical head is darkened and lightly scratched from handling, atop a straight, slender shaft. The wood is a mottled red-brown with darker flecks along its length. Fifteen and a half inches tall, on a square black base.

Quiet. Upright. Not to be argued with.