The Karagwe Kingdom in North Western Tanzania between Rwanda and Lake Victoria was one of many Great Lakes kingdoms of the 19th century. It rose to prominence in the early 19th century under the rulership of King Ndagara until 1853.
The sweeping curve of this rare and old wooden quiver gives it a strong sculptural presence. It has a deep dark patina and is decorated with a bold geometric design. It contains four of its original arrows. It would have been carried by a man of consequence as most quivers were of undecorated bamboo. It closely resembles a quiver published in The Victoria Nyanza: The Land, the Races and their Customs, with Specimens of some of the Dialects, London, 1899, pp.57, where it is described as follows:
“I also received a piece of Karagwe-work in the shape of an eminently beautiful quiver, from Sultan Ruhiga in German Buddu. This is 3 1/2 feet long, made of black wood, and scratched with various triangular and linear ornamentations”.
The quality of the craftsmanship, its extensively carved and poker-worked decoration and the surface patina suggest that this quiver was made prior to 1918 (end of WWI) before which Tanzania was part of German East Africa. It has on old unreadable German collection label.
