Boer POW Club ca. 1900

This is a beautifully carved Boer POW Club, with very deep incising. The club is 36.5 cm long with a rounded head about 15 cm in circumference. 10 cm from the head end is a raised band about 1 cm wide with cross-hatched lines in it. The letters “TB” 1.5 cm tall just below the band, on the side opposite the "TB" is a carved dog head 6.5 cm long with whiskers and teeth bared. Running the length and curved around the handle 360 degrees it a serpent 26 cm long without eyes. Just below the dogs head is a rodent-like animal 8 cm long. Next is a fish 9.5 cm long, then near the end is a bird 7 cm long. All of the carvings have good detail and the serpent and fish have intricate scales.

According to records there are 9 Boers known to have been POWs. Only 4 with these initials are known to have been interned in Bermuda. The wood is not Bermuda cedar and though other woods such as buttonwood were used in Bermuda by the internees to a lesser degree, evidence points strongly to this being from St. Helena