Nimcha for comment

[Congoblades]

I have found this sword and part of the sheath. It has been dug up so the blade is very corroded and most of the sheath has been lost. The length is 82 cm. The handle is bone with what looks like a birdhead on top. The quillion is unusual when I compare it with other nimcha swords. any comments appreciated.

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Originally Posted by Congoblades

I have found this sword and part of the sheath. It has been dug up so the blade is very corroded and most of the sheath has been lost. The length is 82 cm. The handle is bone with what looks like a birdhead on top. The quillion is unusual when I compare it with other nimcha swords. any comments appreciated.

Salaams Congoblades ~Very interesting Zanzibari in my view... Badge of office dignitaries sword. Zanzibar. see #57 at http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=17940 also contains a Buttin reference though specifically this falcon head style seems unique.. or could be a variant of 1007 or 1008.
Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

[CharlesS]

Hi,

Nice, interesting piece here. Here's all I can add:

Looks like a good old Nimcha(I use this word loosely as this sword could have originated closer to the Arabian Sea and East Africa) blade of clipped tip form. Shows a lot of age and wear and may or may not benefit from a cleaning, depending on the degree of rust, pitting, etc.

The hilt is more of a puzzle as the metal guard has some outstanding details but its age just doesn't jive with the blade. Either it is new or highly cleaned.

The bone appears very recent, was possibly born with the remainder of the hilt(metal parts), but shows no patination that bone that had any degree of handling or age would. The crude-ish carving of the bone doesn't really match the quality of the metal portions of the hilt.

The scabbard appears to be the wooden remains of fine tooled leather scabbard. Looks like the leather has been stripped and the wood laid bare. When/if this was originally covered by a thin layer of hide it would have looked very impressive and really highlighted the carving.

I think it is very likely this is a good old blade and worn scabbard refitted with a new hilt. The scabbard and blade match up age-wise....the hilt simply does not.

I believe your sword's hilt is an attempt to imitate this:

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ghlight=nimcha

[Martin Lubojacky]

Hi Congoblades,

Please, which kind of metal is the crossguard (quillions) made of ?
(I think link offered by charlesS is appropriate ...)

[Congoblades]

Originally Posted by CharlesS

Hi,

The hilt is more of a puzzle as the metal guard has some outstanding details but its age just doesn't jive with the blade. Either it is new or highly cleaned.

In my opinion the guard is silver. It is cleaned with a soft cloth, warm water and soap.
It was found like this, no oxydation on the guard.

[Congoblades]

an aditional picture.

[CharlesS]

Nice pics....looks to be a nice older guard as well, with the bone added later. If there was no oxidation on the guard and you were able to get it that clean with just soap and water it is likely a "white metal" alloy or very low grade silver, both/either would make perfect sense with this sword.

[Congoblades]

Thank you Ibrahiim, CharlesS and Martin for the comments, intresting.
Greets