A Hand and a Half

[Jim McDougall]

Ed, this is astounding, and like me, so many weapons have remained quietly in solitude without attention for years, then brought out. Seeing them through new far more educated eyes, and into discussion, we discover we have held sleeping giants!

A true ANDREA FERARA blade !!! The rarity is legendary.
Note the arcs with triple dots at the ends....the famed 'sickle' marks in their infancy without dentation.

The discussions concurrent on the authenticity and quality of character in arms circulating through the community seem compelling as we see that not all weapons that become 'suspect' are less than they seem. ...diamonds in the rough they are, true sleeper treasures.
This is resoundingly one of them!!!

Thank you so much Ed for sharing it here, and letting us see a TRUE Andrea Ferrara!

[Ed]

But surely the "logo" was widely copied. No?

[Ed]

I would like to explore this a bit further. Is there literature about the development of this "logo"?

[Jim McDougall]

If you mean the ANDREA FERARA, as far as I know there are few examples of his blades genuinely marked with his name, but clearly there were some, and those by his brother Donato are even more rare.

My own opinion is that the name ANDREA FERARA became a kind of eponym for sound blade in Scotland due to the literal meaning in Latin, Ferara=iron,steel; Andrea= true, etc. St.Andrew patron saint of Scotland.

While the actual numbers of blades going directly to Scotland from Italy and the Ferara's is unclear; what is known is that Solingen quickly picked up on the convention and began using the ANDREA FERARA name, virtually as a 'brand' destined primarily for Scotland but also into other British regions.
As noted, the blade on your sword seems original ANDREA FERARA of mid 16th century and N.Italy/S.Germany hilting.

The grouping of surrounding markings are contemporary to that period.

Later use of the ANDREA FERARA was by numerous other German makers, and often applied with varied spellings and assemblies of other marks of the earlier periods, most often the so called sickle marks of Genoa. It does not seem the running wolf usually was paired with ANDREA FERARA, but surely was possible as these spurious marks and names were applied.

There is a publication which I have seen translated but cant locate it right now:
" I Grande Spadai Feltrini e Bullunisi"
("Master Swordsmiths of Feltre and Belluno")
by Michele Vello & Fabrizio Tonin (2017)
which details the history of Andrea Ferara and his brother.

"On Andrea Ferara Swords"
G.V.Irving
Journal of British Archeology (1865) which I have not read but likely most of the less than accurate notions of those times are within.

I am not aware of any literature specifically discussing how the Andrea Ferara name came into spurious use, but it does not seem to have been copied in his working period, rather more in the 17th century after his demise, and by Solingen smiths.