Takouba with silvered hilt and European blade

colin henshaw · 9th January 2013, 08:07 PM

I was browsing the internet for more images of shackles/leg irons and found these images...

Regards.

Jim McDougall · 9th January 2013, 10:53 PM

Wow, thanks Colin......even more compelling with those V shaped positionings.

Iain · 10th January 2013, 02:10 PM

Hi Colin and Jim,

Thanks so much for your responses. Fascinating stuff!

Regarding the repousse hilt work - I looked at a few pieces I have and have had and this style of work seems pretty common, its just not as dramatically done as on this example.

Regarding the potential for the motif on the hilt to be related to shackles or leg irons, I need to dig around a bit to try and understand if these were used in Hausa/Fulani slave raids. I don't, off the top of my head, recall them being mentioned in period sources when Europeans witnessed these raids (Clapperton was one as I recall). But that doesn't really rule their use out. The ones illustrated I believe are from the west African coast? Certainly would lend a slightly macabre angle to the piece.

One thing I'd mention, which perhaps doesn't show perfectly in the photos is that the pommel is bare iron at the top. I'm not sure if it ever had a brass plate on the top. I've never seen a brass hilt where the tang peened over the brass. So I kind of assumed this one was made as it is. I've added a larger photo to show this off better.

Regarding the blade, the C.Lutters & Co mark seems the closest in the pose of the lion. I'll try to get a better photo of it this evening, perhaps the engraving and details will provide some further clues. I am skeptical this was done natively, although I guess it could always have been added at an entry point into the continent like the north African ports. Any thoughts on the age of the blade?

Thanks again for the interest and comments guys!

Iain · 11th January 2013, 04:57 PM

Here's a larger copy of the lion stamp image. Maybe the devil is in the details.

CharlesS · 11th January 2013, 05:01 PM

One of the most interesting takoubas I have seen in some time! Seems to prove the possibilities are endless. Thanks for posting.

Iain · 13th January 2013, 09:23 AM

Hi Charles,

Thanks very much, this one is one of the best I've seen in the last couple years.

Returning to the lion, Jim kindly pointed me towards a similarly posed lion in Lhote found on a single fuller blade in Hoggar with a variation of the cross and orb as well.

This lion is does not contain the detail of mine, but at least shows that the shape and pose is found on other takouba. The hunt continues for a more exact match!

Iain · 27th January 2013, 07:26 PM

Well I'm beginning to feel a bit thick...

I remember now why parts of the decorative elements on this sword felt familiar.

I used to own a cast hilt takouba with some similar "loop" patterns.

Images below. It's not an exact match, but this is closer in decorative style than to the more typical Hausa/Nupe brass work I think.

The sword shown was discussed before on the forum and all of us sorted of leaned something a bit more west Africa like Yoruba.

If we use this as a base and start looking towards the Yoruba things get interesting. According to Smith's Yoruba Armament:

Quote:

SWORDS
The primary armament of the Yoruba armies before the general introduc-
tion of firearms consisted of swords, spears, and bows and arrows, re-
sembling in this the armies of the Guinea coast at the end of the seventeenth
century described by Dapper and Bosman. There seems to have been
little or no differentiation between cavalry and infantry weapons, though
swords and bows would have been more effective in dismounted action
than from the horses.
The pattern of two-edged straight or gently tapering sword, characteristic
of the Middle Ages in Europe and in Islamic countries, and well-known in
northern Nigeria, was evidently common among the Yoruba; such
swords, about 3 ft. long, were observed as still in use by members of the
Egba army in I86I.

So, Yoruba were takouba users (something that had simply slipped my mind) and the decorative patterns seen on the silver hilted takouba seem to be a possible fit within Yoruba styles.

The lion mark also plays well into a Yoruba context with the lion being a symbol of royalty among the Yoruba.

I'm also including an engraving of a Yoruba trader circa 1890-93 who seems to be carrying a takouba!

Any thoughts?

9th January 2013, 08:07 PM	#1
colin henshaw Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 1,429	I was browsing the internet for more images of shackles/leg irons and found these images... Regards. Attached Images

10th January 2013, 02:10 PM	#3
Iain Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Olomouc Posts: 1,708	Hi Colin and Jim, Thanks so much for your responses. Fascinating stuff! Regarding the repousse hilt work - I looked at a few pieces I have and have had and this style of work seems pretty common, its just not as dramatically done as on this example. Regarding the potential for the motif on the hilt to be related to shackles or leg irons, I need to dig around a bit to try and understand if these were used in Hausa/Fulani slave raids. I don't, off the top of my head, recall them being mentioned in period sources when Europeans witnessed these raids (Clapperton was one as I recall). But that doesn't really rule their use out. The ones illustrated I believe are from the west African coast? Certainly would lend a slightly macabre angle to the piece. One thing I'd mention, which perhaps doesn't show perfectly in the photos is that the pommel is bare iron at the top. I'm not sure if it ever had a brass plate on the top. I've never seen a brass hilt where the tang peened over the brass. So I kind of assumed this one was made as it is. I've added a larger photo to show this off better. Regarding the blade, the C.Lutters & Co mark seems the closest in the pose of the lion. I'll try to get a better photo of it this evening, perhaps the engraving and details will provide some further clues. I am skeptical this was done natively, although I guess it could always have been added at an entry point into the continent like the north African ports. Any thoughts on the age of the blade? Thanks again for the interest and comments guys! Attached Images

11th January 2013, 04:57 PM	#4
Iain Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Olomouc Posts: 1,708	Here's a larger copy of the lion stamp image. Maybe the devil is in the details. Attached Images

13th January 2013, 09:23 AM	#6
Iain Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Olomouc Posts: 1,708	Hi Charles, Thanks very much, this one is one of the best I've seen in the last couple years. Returning to the lion, Jim kindly pointed me towards a similarly posed lion in Lhote found on a single fuller blade in Hoggar with a variation of the cross and orb as well. This lion is does not contain the detail of mine, but at least shows that the shape and pose is found on other takouba. The hunt continues for a more exact match! Attached Images

9th January 2013, 10:53 PM	#2
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,192	Wow, thanks Colin......even more compelling with those V shaped positionings.

11th January 2013, 05:01 PM	#5
CharlesS Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Greenville, NC Posts: 1,854	One of the most interesting takoubas I have seen in some time! Seems to prove the possibilities are endless. Thanks for posting.