Spear

CultureAfrican

Date20th century

MediumMetal blade and bands on wooden handle (broken)

DimensionsOverall: 40 1/2 inches (102.87 cm)

Credit LineGift of Mrs. Lewis B. Dougherty, sister of Dr. William Hamilton Moore Jr., missionary to the Belgian Congo 1922-1928

Object numberF83-21/1.1,2

On View

Not on view

Collections

African Art

Terms

DescriptionLong, flaring hand-forged iron blade with medial ridge extending the length of the blade to the iron socket. Near the base of the blade is a set of five, round holes on each side of and parallel to the medial ridge. The shaft is well patinated dense wood and is wire wrapped over three-quarters of its length. A section of the shaft is missing.Provenance

Provenance

Dr. William Hamilton Moore, Jr. (1898-1928), Kansas City, MO and Wembo Nyama, Belgian Congo, by 1926-1928 [1];

By inheritance to his sister, Nancy Moore Dougherty (1901-1996), Liberty, MO, 1928-1983;

Her gift to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1983.

NOTES:

[1] Dr. William Hamilton Moore, Jr., was a dental missionary with the Central Methodist Church, Kansas City, MO, in the Belgian Congo from 1923-1928. Moore returned to Kansas City on a one-year furlough in September 1926, bringing the spear back to Kansas City with him. He returned to the Congo in October 1927, remaining until his death the following year. See copy of Moore’s biography from the Memorial Service Bulletin of the Central Methodist Church, September 9, 1928, NAMA curatorial files.

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