TILMAN HEBEISEN
117
An additional small but telling oversight appears
in the copper rivet, which is—incorrectly—
bulging and rounded on both sides. Authentic
metalwork from this region displays rivets
that are fl at on one side and rounded and attractive
on the other (fi g. 9).3
This technical analysis seems damning to the
Rider Yakoma and, by extension, the other examples
that have more in common with it than
with the example in Fischer and Zirngibl, which
is widely accepted as an authentic specimen, or,
to be precise, the authentic specimen, as it is the
only one of its type reportedly to have been collected
in Africa. Our reasons for believing these
“Yakoma” blades are inauthentic go far beyond
the analysis of a single example.
AFROPAPA.DE
In 2009, Alexander Kubetz and Manfred Zirngibl
(co-author of the above-mentioned Afrikanische
Waffen) published Panga Na Visu, an
encyclopedic book on African weapons that is
packed with photographs. While some consider
it an excellent reference book, others fi nd it to
be something of a curiosity because it presents
numerous knives that seem suspect or obviously
inauthentic alongside knives that are old, rare,
and widely accepted as authentic.
In 2014, a provocative comment appeared on
the website afropapa.de in a discussion thread
about Panga Na Visu. An obviously disgruntled
reader wrote, “Aber Hallo, Ein schönes Buch????
Ja??? alles echt??? Ja?? Ich biege mich vor lachen
‘Schmiedekunst’!!” which roughly translates as
“Hold on there, nice book? Yes? All are real?
Sure? I’m bent over with laughter, ‘blacksmithing’!!”
4 The emphatic disdain piqued the interest
of long-time African weapons collector and expert
Wolf-Dieter Miersch, who had recently become
aware of some suspicious transactions between
Zirngibl and a German museum and was interested
in pursuing leads about his other dealings.
Miersch contacted the author of the online
comment, one Tilman Hebeisen, and after a ninety
minute phone call, he realized that Hebeisen
was the key to unlocking the door to Zirngibl’s
incredibly strange world of secrets. A blacksmith
by trade, Hebeisen declared that Zirngibl, who
had long collected and dealt in African weapons
but whose academic background lay in business
FIG. 3 (left):
One of Tilman Hebeisen’s
ivory-handled “Yakoma”
blades, this one
manufactured in 2004.
Iron, ivory, copper. H: 45 cm.
Ethan Rider Collection.
Photo: Ethan Rider.
FIGS. 4–6 (right):
Leica stereomicroscope
images of the Rider Hebeisen
“Yakoma” blade.
Photos: Joel Siegel.
FIG. 7 (below right):
Iron protruding through the
bottom of the ivory handle
on the Rider Hebeisen
“Yakoma” blade.
Photo: Ethan Rider.
FIG. 8 (below):
The overly naturalistic and
muscular incised lizard on the
Rider Hebeisen “Yakoma”
blade.
Photo: Ethan Rider.
FIG. 9 (right):
The incorrect backsidebulging
rivet on the Rider
Hebeisen “Yakoma” blade.
Photo: Ethan Rider.
/AFROPAPA.DE
/afropapa.de
