African sword for I.D. and comment

colin henshaw · 7th April 2009, 04:44 PM

Hi

I have this West African ? cross-cultural sword, that I would like to learn more about. I am interested to identify which elements were made in Europe and which in Africa...

The blade is unmarked, but slight remains of file marks are visible. The guard looks to be a copy ? of a European sword guard. Handle has maybe silver fittings, with simple punched decoration, and the body of the handle itself is made from ivory, with an engraved ring and dot motif.

The scabbard is leather over cloth, with some applied plaited decoration, also simple line decoration.

Could the sword have been partly made-up in Africa from some parts imported from Europe and some native-made perhaps ? That "ring and dot" motif seems pretty universal, even being found on European prehistoric stone-markings.

Comments and opinions would be very welcome.

Regards

7th April 2009, 04:44 PM	#1
colin henshaw Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 1,430	African sword for I.D. and comment Hi I have this West African ? cross-cultural sword, that I would like to learn more about. I am interested to identify which elements were made in Europe and which in Africa... The blade is unmarked, but slight remains of file marks are visible. The guard looks to be a copy ? of a European sword guard. Handle has maybe silver fittings, with simple punched decoration, and the body of the handle itself is made from ivory, with an engraved ring and dot motif. The scabbard is leather over cloth, with some applied plaited decoration, also simple line decoration. Could the sword have been partly made-up in Africa from some parts imported from Europe and some native-made perhaps ? That "ring and dot" motif seems pretty universal, even being found on European prehistoric stone-markings. Comments and opinions would be very welcome. Regards Attached Images