Assegai
Category
Arms and armour
Date
1880
Materials
Metal, Wood
Measurements
1100 mm (Length)30 mm (W)
Order this imageCollection
Royal Military Canal, Kent
NT 1295394
Summary
Assegai, a Zulu spear made of iron and wood.
Full description
Prince Louis Napoléon, also known as Prince Imperial, Napoléon IV (1856-1879) fought with British troops in the Anglo-Zulu War. He was killed with assegai and his body returned to England. The following year his mother travelled to South Africa to trace his footsteps and visit the site he fell.
Provenance
The assegai is one of a group of objects related to the Napoléon family donated by Dorothy Johnston (1880-1962). In a letter to the National Trust (Scotney hub archive, Appledore, A2/T/16/9) she explained they had been given to her by Felix Bertrand, her fencing master; who received them from his father, Baptiste Bertrand, the fencing master to the Prince Imperial; who received them from the Empress Eugénie. Johnston specified the spear had been ‘found in the body of the Prince Imperial’, however it is more likely the spear was never used and presented as a ceremonial gift.