'Little was previously known about these axes and knives, and art historians usually dismissed them (as they often did all African weapons) as unworthy of study, considering them to be merely weapons or utilitarian items. The Shona examples were indeed sometimes used for utilitarian purposes but … there also were, and still are, important ritual uses for them. These ritual or ceremonial aspects partly explain why the knives and axes are regarded with such great pride by the Shona people. In addition, they represent a form of artistry where Shona blacksmith-carvers can display their virtuoso handling of several different materials (iron, wood, and brass wire) and over the centuries they have clearly done this with great skill' (WJ Dewey and G Mvenge, 'The art of the Shona' in Zimbabwe: legacies of stone, Tevuren, 1997, p202).

Shona knives range in scale and ornamentation. A distinguishing feature of Shona knives is the lavish use of brass wire, especially in the latter part of the nineteenth century when traders introduced machine-manufactured wire. However, weaving techniques diminished in the first part of the twentieth century and wirework elements became less intricate. Irrespective of size, the knives all share similar characteristics: a metal blade that slides into a sheath consisting of two pieces of thin wood bound together with wire, a pronounced wooden foot, a raised handle, and a finial of tapering cylindrical form. It is unlikely that any of these knives would have been used for utilitarian purposes, rather being used to serve ceremonial functions. See WJ Dewey and G Mvenge, 'The art of the Shona' in Zimbabwe: legacies of stone, Tevuren, 1997, pp202-205 and 282-285. For another example of a knife and spoon, see no 139, p280.