Fine hand spear as used in the suicidal charges which were generally containable but twice broke the British infantry “square” formation. 57 3/4” length with fine leaf shaped point over finely chiseled raised addorsed barbs in two ranks and opposing bottom pair, on integral banded socket. Natural wood haft and pair of counter weights to the base. Well preserved for the period. The spear of the fanatical followers of Mohammed Ahmed, the “Mad Mahdi” who rose against the British in 1885 to drive out all non-Muslims from Sudan. The hand spear is the weapon of the hand to hand encounter which inevitably concluded with the death of one combatant. The heads were invariably vicious as a commitment to radical religious fervor.
