Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post - Old Spanish Colonial Sword with Inscription

M ELEY · 19th March 2006, 06:06 AM

Hmmm. Well, it doesn't resemble any of the traditional pieces of Mexico or the American southwest. Likewise, from the limited pieces I've seen of South America (mainly, those pieces of the ealy 19th century with basket-type hilts with the bolted guards/knuckle bows), I still think Jim had it right. The writing is decidedly crude, as found on some espada (I had one with the primative writing "Por la vita, por mei Patria" and have seen others with such), but the shape of the hilt/grip looks more Philippine. Note the lack of the down-turned guard found on so many espada and other SW items. A few years back, we discussed Spanish swords from various ports of origin (Salee, Spanish Moracco, the Caribbean) and the multitude of variations seen on these swords, so in keeping with this, I don't think the blade is such a contradiction. The only other thing that struck me is the thought that this piece could have come from a Spanish/Phillipine port and made the trip over to Colonial New Spain (Mexico). Just speculating. Nice piece, in any case.

19th March 2006, 06:06 AM	#5
M ELEY Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: NC, U.S.A. Posts: 2,141	Hmmm. Well, it doesn't resemble any of the traditional pieces of Mexico or the American southwest. Likewise, from the limited pieces I've seen of South America (mainly, those pieces of the ealy 19th century with basket-type hilts with the bolted guards/knuckle bows), I still think Jim had it right. The writing is decidedly crude, as found on some espada (I had one with the primative writing "Por la vita, por mei Patria" and have seen others with such), but the shape of the hilt/grip looks more Philippine. Note the lack of the down-turned guard found on so many espada and other SW items. A few years back, we discussed Spanish swords from various ports of origin (Salee, Spanish Moracco, the Caribbean) and the multitude of variations seen on these swords, so in keeping with this, I don't think the blade is such a contradiction. The only other thing that struck me is the thought that this piece could have come from a Spanish/Phillipine port and made the trip over to Colonial New Spain (Mexico). Just speculating. Nice piece, in any case.