The lot features a wonderful 19th-century Yankton Sioux single knife blade war club from the ex-Jim Bastian collection. The club exhibits a large trade knife blade inset into the haft and secured with old poured pewter lead, the knife blade protrudes 7-inches from the club. There is some minor oxidation and obvious signs of use on the blade itself. The hardwood haft handle has a gunstock pattern and is cross-cut with the top having incised lines, as well the piece has a large pierced hole which at one point would have held a drop of beadwork, feathers or wrist thong at one time, which is long missing. The haft is decorated with old brass trade tacks, an old wrap of tarnished copper wire and traces of old brown paint still being visible. The Yankton (Eastern Sioux) are the only tribe known to have made and used these knife blade war club weapons, which is a variation of the gunstock war club. Similar examples of knife blade gunstock war clubs are documented in John Baldwin’s book “Indian War Clubs of the American Frontier”; furthermore see Harold L. Peterson’s 1965 book, “American Indian Tomahawks” which shows on page 87-89 figures 21-23 three gunstock war club variants holding knife blades (one a single and two that are triple-blade clubs) all of which were from the Sioux. Provenance: From the ex-collection of Jim Bastian Kansas City, Missouri. Overall the club measures 32.5-inches long and the blade area is 7-inches long.