1969.S.92 Miniature billhook knife

Bwami ritual objects include figures and miniature nonfunctional tools carved out of ivory, bone, and wood. Such objects have specific names and meanings, which without field documentation cannot always be identified with confidence. The meaning of a billhook knife is known. It refers to a proverb: “He who has not many [people] cannot clear the tangle of lianas.” It expresses mugusu, a key Bwami concept about diligence and cooperation among many people to succeed in Bwami and in life in general.

Roslyn A. Walker, Label text, Arts of Africa, 2015.

n.d.: Stillman Collection, New York

1969: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, gift of Eugene and Margaret McDermott, purchased from above [1]

Notes:

The main source for this provenance is the object record card in the Collections Records object file.

[1] The name of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1933, was changed to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1983.

Apply to objects where number equals 1969.S.92