Unique form with medially ridged bifurcated head. The edges set with trade tacks and the bolster with smaller bail heads. A few tacks missing. 23 ½” total length with tapered haft. Fine age patina and character. Somalia, separated from the Arabian peninsula by the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, was a buffer between Africa and the Arab world. The majority of the population is Sunni Muslim. It was an important commercial interface between the African and Arab world including the slave trade. This club was likely carried by a trader or merchant for personal protection in the streets where there was no law and fortunes changed hands.
