African sword , islamic script?? kaskara sudan

ariel · 10th July 2021, 11:41 AM

Agree with Ian 100%. Exceptionally nice piece. Congratulations!
I particularly love this style of a crossguard: it is a faithful homage to the old Mamluk examples. The wrapping is old, either rotten or dried, with the resulting major losses. This is the usual finding with old Sudanese kaskaras. I have a similar one with Peter Munich's mark and with the same wrapping story. Couple of years ago I even bought a new leather thread to re-wrap the handle, but every time I look at it, I hesitate: this is this sword's history .
A perennial dilemma of every collector: should we " honor" the sword by bringing it back to the fighting status or should we just stop the process of deterioration and make peace with patinas, pockmarks, inactive rust, cracks and losses of the organic parts etc, etc.

Immediate question: I have several Indian and Afghani swords with significant losses of the mastique holding the blade and the handle together with the resulting wobbly-ing. Should I re-fill lost parts of it with a reasonably authentic compound ( old sealing wax based on genuine lac with powdered bricks and a drop of dark paint )? I have been hesitating doing it for several years already....

10th July 2021, 11:41 AM	#4
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	Agree with Ian 100%. Exceptionally nice piece. Congratulations! I particularly love this style of a crossguard: it is a faithful homage to the old Mamluk examples. The wrapping is old, either rotten or dried, with the resulting major losses. This is the usual finding with old Sudanese kaskaras. I have a similar one with Peter Munich's mark and with the same wrapping story. Couple of years ago I even bought a new leather thread to re-wrap the handle, but every time I look at it, I hesitate: this is this sword's history . A perennial dilemma of every collector: should we " honor" the sword by bringing it back to the fighting status or should we just stop the process of deterioration and make peace with patinas, pockmarks, inactive rust, cracks and losses of the organic parts etc, etc. Immediate question: I have several Indian and Afghani swords with significant losses of the mastique holding the blade and the handle together with the resulting wobbly-ing. Should I re-fill lost parts of it with a reasonably authentic compound ( old sealing wax based on genuine lac with powdered bricks and a drop of dark paint )? I have been hesitating doing it for several years already....