Very odd Sudanese sword for discussion

Gustav · 8th October 2012, 11:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Timo Nieminen

My first thought was that it appears to be built from a sword like this one.

(There are some swords like this made in India that are much cheaper than the Del Tin one above.)

A very good point.

David R · 9th October 2012, 12:13 AM

Ouch! This does not look good....

A Senefelder · 9th October 2012, 12:20 AM

That certainly looks like the Del Tin hilt dressed up with a few little extra knobs. The decorative motif is identicle.

Lew · 9th October 2012, 04:34 AM

I would say this is a composite sword. The scabbard has thin rings which indicates it was made post 1950 or so. The older scabbards had wide flattened rings. Looks like someone copied a Viking hilt and added some extra tidbits

.

Mefidk · 9th October 2012, 07:21 AM

Wow - a good example of why its worth keeping tabs on all the modern sword catalogues!

I suppose this is at least a new variant on kaskara blades in medieval hilts

Iain · 9th October 2012, 08:37 AM

Thanks guys for all the comments and detective work. Certainly looks like Timo is spot on with the Del Tin hilt.

This is one of the reasons I wanted to post this here - something just felt off about it. I always get nervous when a one of a kind sword shows up that's supposedly genuine in a culture that stuck to a particular pattern pretty rigidly. I'd actually done a little photoshoped image without the knobs on this hilt to illustrate just how close, well now it appears identical, this was to a viking hilt. Obviously no need to post that now.

I guess this just goes to show the interest generated by thinking something is rare and unusual leads to some cloudy judgement and someone spending a lot of money for nothing - I am quite curious now where this ended up. The sad thing out of all this I think is that because Christie's sold it, it will probably knock around in the collecting world for quite a while longer as a genuine article.

Martin Lubojacky · 9th October 2012, 10:41 AM

Would Christies be able to admit a mistake (if the knew about it) ?

9th October 2012, 12:13 AM	#2
David R Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 1,138	Ouch! This does not look good....

9th October 2012, 12:20 AM	#3
A Senefelder Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 214	That certainly looks like the Del Tin hilt dressed up with a few little extra knobs. The decorative motif is identicle.

9th October 2012, 04:34 AM	#4
Lew (deceased) Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: East Coast USA Posts: 3,191	I would say this is a composite sword. The scabbard has thin rings which indicates it was made post 1950 or so. The older scabbards had wide flattened rings. Looks like someone copied a Viking hilt and added some extra tidbits .

9th October 2012, 07:21 AM	#5
Mefidk Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Denmark Posts: 157	Wow - a good example of why its worth keeping tabs on all the modern sword catalogues! I suppose this is at least a new variant on kaskara blades in medieval hilts

9th October 2012, 08:37 AM	#6
Iain Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Olomouc Posts: 1,719	Thanks guys for all the comments and detective work. Certainly looks like Timo is spot on with the Del Tin hilt. This is one of the reasons I wanted to post this here - something just felt off about it. I always get nervous when a one of a kind sword shows up that's supposedly genuine in a culture that stuck to a particular pattern pretty rigidly. I'd actually done a little photoshoped image without the knobs on this hilt to illustrate just how close, well now it appears identical, this was to a viking hilt. Obviously no need to post that now. I guess this just goes to show the interest generated by thinking something is rare and unusual leads to some cloudy judgement and someone spending a lot of money for nothing - I am quite curious now where this ended up. The sad thing out of all this I think is that because Christie's sold it, it will probably knock around in the collecting world for quite a while longer as a genuine article.

9th October 2012, 10:41 AM	#7
Martin Lubojacky Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Czech Republic Posts: 845	Would Christies be able to admit a mistake (if the knew about it) ?