Takouba: European or African copied blade ??

Mauro · 14th February 2012, 11:34 PM

here is a takouba I bought some time ago. It s a classic one probably made 50-60 years ago but the blade seems much older. In fact it has a series of designs similar to that reported in Cabott Briggs (1965). It has an "arm with a sword among the clouds" and below a sun and a moon with stars. The blade has been shortened and in fact the moon is only partially visible. The rest is hide under the guard and possibly cut off. Cabott Briggs attributed similar decorations, found in takouba and kaskaras, to the XVI-XVII century usually to German sword makers. However many authors claimed that the tuareg blacksmith considered these symbols as a talisman and copied them in more recent blades. The blades that were decorated with these symbols coming from Europe were also considered of good quality and therefore easily sold for higher prices. Is there any way to establish if the blade is original from the XVI-XVII century? Is the form of the blade found in XVI-XVII century blades. I think that the "arm with the swords" and the other symbols are very well made and could be original but I would like to have your comments.

14th February 2012, 11:34 PM	#1
Mauro Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 83	Takouba: European or African copied blade ?? here is a takouba I bought some time ago. It s a classic one probably made 50-60 years ago but the blade seems much older. In fact it has a series of designs similar to that reported in Cabott Briggs (1965). It has an "arm with a sword among the clouds" and below a sun and a moon with stars. The blade has been shortened and in fact the moon is only partially visible. The rest is hide under the guard and possibly cut off. Cabott Briggs attributed similar decorations, found in takouba and kaskaras, to the XVI-XVII century usually to German sword makers. However many authors claimed that the tuareg blacksmith considered these symbols as a talisman and copied them in more recent blades. The blades that were decorated with these symbols coming from Europe were also considered of good quality and therefore easily sold for higher prices. Is there any way to establish if the blade is original from the XVI-XVII century? Is the form of the blade found in XVI-XVII century blades. I think that the "arm with the swords" and the other symbols are very well made and could be original but I would like to have your comments. Attached Images