Help on mark on Italian sword ca. 1580

Jim McDougall · 19th September 2019, 04:55 PM

Philip, thank you for the great further insights into these fascinating short sabres of North Italy. As you point out, the terminology does present challenges for collectors outside the Italian language sphere, as the singular and plural versions of 'storta' seem the same but for the a or e at the end.

Also the many variations on the blades are understandable, as these regions of Veneto in Italy were really in such proximity with the cities whose names are well known in the annals of famed blade production. The makers in these cities, whose names are in many cases legendary, clearly were among the most innovative in their field, and there appears to have been profound competition in developing ever more effective blade forms.

In these areas and with this brisk competition and developmental innovation among blade producers, it seems inevitable that descriptive terms, derived from various vernacular terms, would become applied collectively in many cases outside the original specific.

Here in Texas (as you noted) there is of course a pretty good spectrum of typically large bladed knives, but regardless of intricacies in character of features, the broad term 'Bowie' reigns in the vernacular.
The Spanish cognate 'cuchillo' to the Italian 'coltello', is probably more confined to the Mexican vernacular, but even there other slang terms often apply.

Thank you so much also for always bring up such great book titles and references! I absolutely must get the book 'Caino' as you have noted.
Here again, the use of a place name has been interpreted often as a makers name, and entwined in the 'lore' of writers who have woven it into the fiber of ever repeated 'references' in published material.

Getting back to the case at hand from the OP, looking at maps of the region of Veneto (where Venice is capital) the other locations in this region and contiguous proximity include Belluno ( in north with Ferrara to the south) of course aligned with the mysterious Andrea Ferara; Milan to the west; and naturally Brescia as you have well noted. ……...the potential for cross use of the stamped marks we are discussing is not only likely, but probable.

While the makers names associated with these locations are of course well known in some cases, but the numbers of workers and shops not well known must have been notable.

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19th September 2019, 04:55 PM	#20
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,587	Philip, thank you for the great further insights into these fascinating short sabres of North Italy. As you point out, the terminology does present challenges for collectors outside the Italian language sphere, as the singular and plural versions of 'storta' seem the same but for the a or e at the end. Also the many variations on the blades are understandable, as these regions of Veneto in Italy were really in such proximity with the cities whose names are well known in the annals of famed blade production. The makers in these cities, whose names are in many cases legendary, clearly were among the most innovative in their field, and there appears to have been profound competition in developing ever more effective blade forms. In these areas and with this brisk competition and developmental innovation among blade producers, it seems inevitable that descriptive terms, derived from various vernacular terms, would become applied collectively in many cases outside the original specific. Here in Texas (as you noted) there is of course a pretty good spectrum of typically large bladed knives, but regardless of intricacies in character of features, the broad term 'Bowie' reigns in the vernacular. The Spanish cognate 'cuchillo' to the Italian 'coltello', is probably more confined to the Mexican vernacular, but even there other slang terms often apply. Thank you so much also for always bring up such great book titles and references! I absolutely must get the book 'Caino' as you have noted. Here again, the use of a place name has been interpreted often as a makers name, and entwined in the 'lore' of writers who have woven it into the fiber of ever repeated 'references' in published material. Getting back to the case at hand from the OP, looking at maps of the region of Veneto (where Venice is capital) the other locations in this region and contiguous proximity include Belluno ( in north with Ferrara to the south) of course aligned with the mysterious Andrea Ferara; Milan to the west; and naturally Brescia as you have well noted. ……...the potential for cross use of the stamped marks we are discussing is not only likely, but probable. While the makers names associated with these locations are of course well known in some cases, but the numbers of workers and shops not well known must have been notable.