The lot features a fantastic ball head war club with spike attributed to the Chippewa Native American Indians of Wisconsin of the 19th Century. The piece has a typical Great Lakes Woodlands pattern of ball head war club being carved entirely from one piece of wood from the ball root burl of a tree. The piece shows a carved spherical ball root ball end with slightly curved and tapering rounded handle which recurves at the gripping area and overall shows remnants of old black paint on the haft and ball. The hardwood haft has an artful curl at the grip end and some high relief carving. The piece is finely adorned with small circular bone inlays, brass trade tacks and an old wrap of rawhide at the gripping section. The club has a nice mellow patina and minor and expected wear from honest age. The club likely dates to the third to fourth quarters of the 19th Century being used at the tail end of the Indian Wars era and into the pre-reservation era as a dance club. The Ball shows a dagger spike blade with median ridge, crude forged hammer marks and a double blade. The gripping area is highly carved showing a filed ridge above and below the rawhide wrapping and finished by the round pommel like end, a truly artistic addition. The club truly has a presence and displays very well. Ball head war clubs with similar black-paint and black-paint remnants have been documented in John Baldwin’s 2001 book “Indian War Clubs of the American Frontier”. Provenance: From the ex-collection of Tom Hardy of Indianapolis, Indiana. Measures overall 22 inches in length with a spike being 3 inches long.