item #31

from: Ivory Coast

tribe: Baule

price: $250.00

7 1/2" long (19 cm) This great old knife features 3 old, worn spiny oyster shells decorating its sheath. These shells are not indigenous to Ivory Coast and the ocean is a long trip from where the Baule live in Ivory Coast. They do come from the Indian Ocean, a long way from West Africa. The shell in its natural form is covered with long hard spines which may have been broken off but even if they were, these shells are so smooth and worn that they must be very very old. Please click on the image to see what the shell in its natural state looks like, before it was every worn down as you see on this old knife.

photo # 31.1

photo # 31.2