Original Item: One of a Kind. The "Zulu War" was Queen Victoria's famous "Little War," which has always been a true favorite with the British people. The story was made into the most wonderful Movie, starring Stanley Baker and Michael Caine, which shows the amazing defense of Rorke's Drift by just 130 British Troops against 4,000 Zulu Warriors. This was after almost half of the 24th Regiment of Foot were wiped out at the Battle of Isandlwana the day before.

Here is a classic high quality Zulu War Club, constructed from a single large piece of wood, usually a large branch or trunk of the tree. It
measures 30" in overall length and the Ball Warhead is 4" across. Only the modern "fakes" use two separate pieces of wood, haft and ball, the originals ALL are made from one piece of wood.

There is a silver shield shape plaque on the haft engraved :-

Named and identified Zulu War Clubs are really rare and clearly are great for those interested in during research. This is especially true if the officer named is of the 24th Regiment of Foot. The War caused such a stir in England, as masses of these Knobkieries were taken to England by the returning Soldiers, though unfortunately very few bear identifying markings. This example is in great condition having spent about 140 years on the Library wall of some English Manor House. The residue of the silver polish still evident after so many years of cleaning.

Ready to research and display!

A Knobkierie, also spelled knobkerrie, knopkierie or knobkerry, is a form of club used mainly in Southern and Eastern Africa. Typically they have a large knob at one end and can be used for throwing at animals in hunting or for clubbing an enemy's head. The knobkierie is carved from a branch thick enough for the knob, with the rest being whittled down to create the shaft.

The name derives from the Afrikaans word knop, meaning knot or ball and the Nama (one of the Khoekhoe languages) word kierie, meaning cane or walking stick. The name has been extended to similar weapons used by the natives of Australia, the Pacific islands and other places.

Knobkieries were an indispensable weapon of war, particularly among southern Nguni tribes such as the Zulu (as the iwisa) and the Xhosa. Knobkieries was occasionally used during World War I. The weapon also being carried by British soldiers in Siegfried Sassoon's fictionalized autobiography.