This is a terrific authentic 19th Century Sioux Native American Indian double knife blade war club from the Cyrus Eaton collection of London, England. Provenance: Collected by Cyrus Eaton, as noted from his collecting log, from an artifact dealer at the Santa Fe Whitehawk Show in 2009 for $7,500. The club is from circa 1860-1870 from the Indian Wars era and is attributed to the Santee Sioux Native American Indians of Eastern South Dakota. It is comprised of a long, hand-carved wood haft totaling 39 inches in length with remnants of old green and brown paint along with an elaborate old brass trade tack pattern on both sides of the club. The old brass trade tack pattern shows several bands, a zig-zag pattern possibly a symbol for snake or river and an hourglass or snake pattern of triangles; early brass trade tacking represents the original owners society or warrior band association. The top of the club has two old trade knives inset into the haft that protrude 5 ½ inches. The knives have a typical 19th Century clip point bowie skinner pattern often seed on trade knives. The knives appear to have been cleaned of corrosion at some point by a previous collector. The bottom of the club shows an old pierced hold at the bottom of the gripping area which would have held a hide wrist throng or drop of feathers at one time, which is no longer present. The club has a nice overall patina and some wear of the finish, with nicks, dings and scratched from honest age and use. The piece, which is a variation of the gunstock war club tomahawk, is a very rare and unusual form. This style of “knife blade” war club was only used by the Dakota Sioux tribes, particularly the Eastern Santee Sioux and Yanktonai Sioux, with no other tribes being documented as using a club such as this. Rather than the iron spear or lance point, the club holds two trade knife blades which have been inset int the long, thin wood haft. The war club is similar to the Easter Plains Three-Bladed Knife Club from the Marvin L. Lince Oregon collection sold by Cowan’s Auction in their 04/05/2013 sale for $180,000 and the Knife Blade club from the Jim Ritchie collection sold by Cowan’s Auction in their 04/08/2016 sale for $96,000 and the Yankton Sioux Double Knife Blade War Club from John Baldwin collection sold by North American Auction in 2019 for over $7,000 (with bp). Provenance: From the ex-collection of Cyrus Eaton of London, England; purchased by Eaton at the 2009 Santa Fe Whitehawk Show for $7,500. Measures overall 39 inches in length with knives that protrude 5 ½ inches. A similar knife club is in the collections of the Royal Ontario Museum (ca 1875: collection number ROM2005_5582_5). Chamberlain, A.F. 1890. "The Thunder-Bird Amongst the Algonkins". American Anthropologist Vol.A3:1 (51-54). Hanson, James. 1975. Metal Weapons, Tools, and Ornaments of the Teton Dakota Indians. University of Nebraska Press.