Ok, now that we have a consensus that this is indeed a nice piece, I wanted to go with David's serious interest in trying to consider possible origins for it. The earlier thread on the most interesting Mandara arm dagger was very helpful, and that was a great learning experience on the weapons of these regions. I honestly had not thought of arm 'daggers' ever reaching such length, but as was shown, the weapon was worn pommel down with the sword/dagger in scabbard upward, which might have been considered I suppose some kind of quick draw rig
, worn on the left arm.
What is fascinating about David's sword is that it has the woven leather seen on the Mandara type daggers/swords referenced by Tim as being from "Waffen aus Zentral Afrika", as well as the pommel shape, though this seems more stylized as might be the case with a more modern (20th c.) example.
I'm curious about the pommels on these, which as suggested, seem to reflect those on the Tebu daggers associated with Fulani from Chad, which are of course arm daggers. The 'skull crusher' appellation is interesting, and I'd like to hear more on that, as well as what possible symbolism or image these distinct pommels are supposed to suggest.
What is key here is the clear indications of trans Saharan trade, and tribal interaction. While the hilt itself suggests the arm swords of the Mandarawa people of mountain regions of Cameroon, the pommel and hilt shape is seen on
the tebu arm daggers from regions to the east in Chad. The diffusion of these weapons seems obviously to have moved relatively indiscriminantly in either direction , and the size of the weapons themselves also seem to have varied much as seen in many ethnographic forms.
The blade on David's sword is the next point of interest, as it suggests its origins, in form at least, from even farther east beyond Chad. The blade is remarkably similar to the swords found in Dongolan regions of the Sudan, in its shape as well as the profiled outline in motif on the blade. Most examples of these blades seem to carry representations of a crocodile in the blade center.
This interesting sword, as already observed is probably early 20th century, and with the hilt, probably from any number of points along Saharan routes between the Mandaran western terminals to those in Chad, with a blade form from either a Dongolan influenced smith or a blade from those regions.
These are my ideas David, as you asked, and as always I hope to hear those of others.
All very best regards,
Jim