ARCL0113: OBJECT ASSESSMENT

A.20 SMALL NIGERIAN KNIFE AND SHEATH

This knife represents a complicated and largely unknown process that carried it from early 20^th century Nigeria to the United Kingdom and eventually to the Ethnographic Collection. As a detailed, composite artefact with iron, leather and potentially skin, wood, and possible other media, it poses material and scientific questions. As an artefact that is part of a teaching collection, the narratives it embody are vital, and should continue to remain legible and interpretable to as broad a range of potential audiences as possible.

 

Left: The obverse side of the knife, as illustrated in the Center: showing what the decorative 

elements may look like under the corrosion and Right: the reverse side. 

For understanding the potential history of the knife, investigating the acquirer, G.T. Fox, and where he may have been based in Nigeria is necessary. George T. Fox (1880–1912) was a reverend working with the Cambridge University Mission in Northern Nigeria (Martin Groth, pers. corr. 2020). At that time, there was an active missionary presence across Northern Nigeria, including areas that were mainly controlled or inhabited by Ngas, Fulani, and Hausa peoples among others (Kwashi 2013, 170–1; Lugard 1906, 118–21). Rev. Fox was known to have been in Nigeria, in the area of what is now the Jos Plateau, for much of the time between 1907 and 1912, when he passed away in Kano (Kwashi 2013, 172; Martin Groth, pers. corr. 2020). Interestingly, Rev. Fox is cited as collecting mammalian specimens for the Natural History Museum in London, but not knives (Thomas 1912, 683). Thus the origins of this knife and how it came to enter the Ethnographic Collection at UCL are still unknown.

The obverse and reverse sides of the sheath.

What can be said is this: future investigations regarding the production methods could help clarify cultural identification, offer a better understanding of manufacture, and flag potential conservation concerns. The knife and sheath both appear structurally sound overall, but there are areas of what appears to be loss, degradation, and damage or use wear with each. Some of the most concerning features include the extensive, orange-brown corrosion on the blade, which partially obscures the decorative elements. This is likely a product of the knife having been stored within its sheath, where organic components would be in constant contact with the metal (Florian 2005). The green skin or leather decorative elements are also particularly degraded, which may be a result of manufacture. Despite these concerns, this artefact should still be safe for handling (with gloves), and further degradation may be slowed by storing the blade outside of the sheath.

An annotated map of Nigeria, showing Jos and the Panyam/Jos Plateau region, where Rev. Fox 

originally travelled, and Kano, where he passed away (Altatoron 2008; United Nations 2014).

Altatoron 2008. “Jos Plateau forest-grassland mosaic ecoregion map” (File:AT1010 map.png), 6 February 2008. Retrieved on 8 February 2020 from World Wide Web: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:AT1010_map.png

Florian, M.-L.E. 2005. “Chapter 5: The mechanisms of deterioration in leather” In Conservation of Leather and Related Materials, M. Kite and R. Thomson (eds). Oxford: Butterworth Heinemann. Retrieved on 1 March 2020 from World Wide Web: https://www.dawsonera.com/abstract/9780080454665

Kwashi, B.A. 2013. “Chapter 15: The Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion)”. In The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to the Anglican Communion, I.S. Markham, J.B. Jawkins, J. Terry, L. Nuñez Steffensen (eds). Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell. Retrieved on 21 January 2020 from World Wide Web: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1002/9781118320815.ch15

Lugard, F.D. 1906. “No. 516: Northern Nigeria”. In Colonial Reports – Annual 1905–1906 (516), submitted by Sir F. Lugard to Colonial Office, Abinger Common, Surrey, 27 November 1906. Retrieved on 24 February 2020 from World Wide Web: https://libsysdigi.library.illinois.edu/ilharvest/Africana/Books2011-05/3064634/3064634_1905_1906_northern_nigeria/3064634_1905_1906_northern_nigeria_opt.pdf

Thomas, O. 1912. “LXXVI.—List of a third collection of mammals from Panyam, N. Nigeria, presented by the Rev. G. T. Fox”. In Annals and Magazine of Natural History, 9(54), 683–6. Retrieved on 21 January 2020 from World Wide Web: 10.1080/00222931208693185

United Nations 2014. “Nigeria” (Map no. 4228 Rev. 1, August 2014. Department of Field Support, Cartographic Section. Retrieved on 15 March 2020 from World Wide Web: https://www.un.org/Depts/Cartographic/map/profile/nigeria.pdf