Mossi sword

Mauro · 19th October 2011, 06:07 PM

I recently bouth this sword that the seller attributed to the Mossi because it was stored together with other Mossi items. I am not familiar with Mossi swords and therefore I shall be glad to receive your comments.
It is 67 cm long. The single edged blade is crudely made and slightly curved with a spine that is ca. 2 mm thick. It has an hand-made brass handle melted to the blade. It has a large curved guard that is attached to the base of the handle and ends with a curl that recall the military blades. The base of the handle is slightly larger than the rest of the guard and one side is decorated with few oblique lines. The curl has also some decorations in the form of nicks along the upper and lower edge of the decorated side. The guard is also attached close to the top of the handle which is made with the head of a sheep. The head is chiselled with the eyes, the mouth and the ears well in evidence. The black scabbard is made of leather and has the bottom missing. It is reinforced with regularely spaced rings of leather.
I found that the sheep head in some way recall the flyssa of the Berbers but I do not know if this is simply a coincidence although usually I never believe in coincidence.

19th October 2011, 06:07 PM	#1
Mauro Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 83	Mossi sword I recently bouth this sword that the seller attributed to the Mossi because it was stored together with other Mossi items. I am not familiar with Mossi swords and therefore I shall be glad to receive your comments. It is 67 cm long. The single edged blade is crudely made and slightly curved with a spine that is ca. 2 mm thick. It has an hand-made brass handle melted to the blade. It has a large curved guard that is attached to the base of the handle and ends with a curl that recall the military blades. The base of the handle is slightly larger than the rest of the guard and one side is decorated with few oblique lines. The curl has also some decorations in the form of nicks along the upper and lower edge of the decorated side. The guard is also attached close to the top of the handle which is made with the head of a sheep. The head is chiselled with the eyes, the mouth and the ears well in evidence. The black scabbard is made of leather and has the bottom missing. It is reinforced with regularely spaced rings of leather. I found that the sheep head in some way recall the flyssa of the Berbers but I do not know if this is simply a coincidence although usually I never believe in coincidence. Attached Images