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Source Description
This ceremonial axe (<em>gano</em>) showcases its maker’s skill in using different materials. The crescent-shaped blade was likely locally forged; braided wires and a Swiss pocket watch fragment on the handle were imported. Like the headrest nearby, gano were gendered female; a small headrest is carved at top. Too fine for battle, a man may have held it as a status or ancestral symbol during rituals or dancing. Though made for centuries, religious use of knives and axes waned due to early 20th-century Christianity and government laws. Rising independence-era Zimbabwean nationalism (1960s–70s) revived tradition-based religion and associated objects like the gano.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
110842
label
Ceremonial Axe (gano)
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
110842
contentType
object
title
Ceremonial Axe (gano)
description
This ceremonial axe (<em>gano</em>) showcases its maker’s skill in using different materials. The crescent-shaped blade was likely locally forged; braided wires and a Swiss pocket watch fragment on the handle were imported. Like the headrest nearby, gano were gendered female; a small headrest is carved at top. Too fine for battle, a man may have held it as a status or ancestral symbol during rituals or dancing. Though made for centuries, religious use of knives and axes waned due to early 20th-century Christianity and government laws. Rising independence-era Zimbabwean nationalism (1960s–70s) revived tradition-based religion and associated objects like the gano.
date
1900s, by 1928
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q80002968
genreSpecific
Arms and Armor
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 15.8 cm (6 1/4 in.)
cul
Southern Africa, Zimbabwe, Shona-style blacksmith-carver
accession
1929.364
Source extras
tec
Iron, wood, and metal
tombstone
Ceremonial Axe (gano), 1900s, by 1928. Southern Africa, Zimbabwe, Shona-style blacksmith-carver. Iron, wood, and metal; overall: 15.8 cm (6 1/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of the African Art Sponsors of Karamu House, 1929.364
collection
African Art
didYouKnow
This ceremonial axe has a half-moon piece of metal nailed to it, marked "EKB Depose." It is part of the mechanism for a pocket watch made by Edward Kummer of Bettlach, whose Swiss factories marked watches with his initials between 1888 and 1932.
creditline
Gift of the African Art Sponsors of Karamu House
updatedAt
2026-05-29 05:52:45.454000
sourceId
110842
dept
African Art
coll
African Art
med
Iron, wood, and metal
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
7357a5909c3ad316