Quote:
Originally Posted by TVV
The scabbard with the characteristic widening looks like a kaskara scabbard.
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Yes, should be something linked to Kaskara and Sudan, nevertheless, some Mandingo swords and daggers scabbards/ sheaths have the same tip. So, I’m not 100% sure that this sword is kaskarish or taboukish.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TVV
The blade does not strike me as specifically made for export to Ethiopia. The patterns meant specifically for Ethiopia tend to have Ethiopian symbols, and the practice appears to have started during Menelik II's reign, while this blade looks earlier and more like a blade made for use in Europe, which subsequently wound up in Africa.
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Yes, please see Iain response, I agree 18th c. seems reasonable, I saw the same blades on Tunisian & Tuareg swords if I’m not mistaken.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TVV
The cross guard with those quillons is unique for kaskaras, and to me is somewhat reminiscent of the quillons on swords from Southern Yemen, but there was Ottoman influence in quite a few places, including Egypt, which is even closer.
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It’s the second time that Yemen is mentioned. Maybe I should look at the East (Eritrea) and not the West (Chad)…
Quote:
Originally Posted by TVV
How is the blade fixed to the hilt: rivets or peened at the top of the pommel?
The pommel is unique, as one would have expected it to be at the same angle as other kaskara disk pommels, but it clearly is not. It is also weird that the blade would be fixed to the hilt in a manner where the base sticks above the guard
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Excellent question, the blade is well fixed to the guard, not peened at the top, just a kind of glue, resin and a small brass rivet. I was sure that the space between the base and the guard will raise some questions. I had the same doubts, in fact until I got the sword. I have many ethno swords and it’s not uncommon, with Indian, Indonesian swords it is very common. In our Western occidental minds, we think about aesthetics, it seems that the people who did this sword were not concerned by this gap.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TVV
It looks like a quality, functional blade but the whole sword looks like something that was never really meant to be used in fighting, but rather for ceremonial or ritual purposes.
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Well, big discussion, I already mentioned in this forum that 50% of the swords here, if not more, were ceremonial or ritual, and very few were used for war or to kill people.
For the sword that I posted, well, with such nice hilt, nice blade and nice scabbard, I don’t see any reason why the sword was not used for fighting, especially with the wire added probably in the early 20th c.
But I agree this sword was maybe just ceremonial or ritual like the first one that I posted… I didn’t find any blood on the blade, only mine as both were very sharp (a good sign of fighting blades)…