The collector acquired this piece after a gorilla-tracking experience in Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Joyleen Tugume, the ranger-guide, held the tool in her hand, swinging it to clear the undergrowth and even employing it as a swagger stick. The collector felt at once that this was a unique item, and it was confirmed afterwards when Joyleen pointed out that the last craftsman to make these sickles had recently died, so that new tools on the market looked nothing like the one she wielded. She reluctantly agreed to sell the item, and then only after she was convinced of the collector’s interest in art.
