Takouba with interesting pommel

Iain · 2nd March 2013, 01:16 PM

This interesting little takouba recently joined me courtesy of another forumite so that I could have a closer look at it.

It's not a piece that confirms to most of the norms for these swords so I thought it worth sharing here.

The blade is flat, rather short at 58.5cm and overall the whole piece is only 72cm. The blade is heavily aged and corroded. This is not a young blade.

The intriguing part of this sword though is really the pommel and guard. The construction of the guard differs from most takouba in that it is brass, but not decorated and not built around an interior construction of steel plates. It is just hollow, sheet brass of reasonable thickness. Deep inside wood splints can be seen being used to reinforce the blade mount. I am really not sure this was ever covered in leather - there are no signs it had additional brass plates mounted on it.

The pommel is very ornately worked with raised designs (floral). The norm for takouba is indented work. Another unusual feature is that the pommel includes a tubular base which slots over the handle tube. Usually the handle fits directly into the pommel.

Because of these features I'm a little stumped as to an ethnic attribution for this one. Nupe because of the brass work is one possibility. But it doesn't really fit with other Nupe swords.

Any ideas based on the pommel motifs and design?

2nd March 2013, 01:16 PM	#1
Iain Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Olomouc Posts: 1,693	Takouba with interesting pommel This interesting little takouba recently joined me courtesy of another forumite so that I could have a closer look at it. It's not a piece that confirms to most of the norms for these swords so I thought it worth sharing here. The blade is flat, rather short at 58.5cm and overall the whole piece is only 72cm. The blade is heavily aged and corroded. This is not a young blade. The intriguing part of this sword though is really the pommel and guard. The construction of the guard differs from most takouba in that it is brass, but not decorated and not built around an interior construction of steel plates. It is just hollow, sheet brass of reasonable thickness. Deep inside wood splints can be seen being used to reinforce the blade mount. I am really not sure this was ever covered in leather - there are no signs it had additional brass plates mounted on it. The pommel is very ornately worked with raised designs (floral). The norm for takouba is indented work. Another unusual feature is that the pommel includes a tubular base which slots over the handle tube. Usually the handle fits directly into the pommel. Because of these features I'm a little stumped as to an ethnic attribution for this one. Nupe because of the brass work is one possibility. But it doesn't really fit with other Nupe swords. Any ideas based on the pommel motifs and design? Attached Images