The 45.5cm diamond section hand forged blade is approximately 6.2 cm at its widest and is in great condition with the wonderful brown patina of old iron and minor age related pitting that adds to its character.
The blade was secured firmly within the haft and a section of cow tail was added to strengthen the bond. Traditionally there were three types of binding used to secure the blade into the haft – wire, cow tail and Ilala palm. The blade is firm within the haft and the 63.5 cm haft has a wonderful patina and flares nicely at the end.
While the Zulu King was responsible for providing his warriors (Impis) with shields, the individual Zulu warrior was responsible for his own weaponry. As such, the length and breadth of a warrior’s Iklwa blade was very much a status symbol. The more steel a warrior could afford to purchase the wealthier and more important he was. The same applied to the choice of binding for the blade. Ilala palm was free to harvest, wire could be traded (but was often stolen from the newly installed telegraph system) and a cow tail could only be obtained by killing a cow. Cattle held great importance to the Zulus and cattle ownership was the indicator of an individual’s wealth and status. Using a cow tail was considered as high status.
This Iklwa has a total length of 111.2 cm.
This was a high status weapon for a senior warrior and was formerly part of the recently auctioned Reginald J. Cheetham collection. This spear will make a great addition to any Anglo-Zulu War collection.
