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Old 4th April 2015, 12:41 AM   #1
Cathey
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Default This has nothing to do with Africa

Hi Guys

I just want to put this to bed and get the thread back to its intended subject Basket Hilts not African blades.

Let me be clear, my sword has a German blade circa 1700, this has been confirmed by the Baron of Earshall who is the world’s foremost authority on basket hilted swords. I have seen at least seven identical examples and to even suggest someone ran around the world switching the blades over for 19th century African blade makes no sense at all. By the way one of these swords is a hand and a half in the Tower of London collection.

Variations of the crescent moon have featured on European blades dating back to the sixteen hundreds, if you want to know more go to:
SOCKEL Johan F HAANDSKYDEVAABENS BEDOMMELSE Volumes 1& 2 International Encyclopedia of the Firearms Manufacturers and Marks from 1400-1900
GYNGELL, Dudley S. Hawtrey ARMOURERS MARKS
LENKIEWICZ, Zygmunt S. 1000 SWORD MARKS OF EUROPEAN BLADEMAKERS

If those of you interested in African blades wish to continue your debate, please start your own thread, I beg you. I have been trying draw out those interested in Basket hilts for a long time and fear this attempt will also fail if we don’t get back on topic.

This being said I am now posting another basket in the hopes that we can get back on topic and encourage other basket hilt enthusiast to contribute.

Cheers Cathey and Rex
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Old 4th April 2015, 12:46 AM   #2
Cathey
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Default Basket hilt – English or Scottish?

Date Circa 1640-1660
Nationality Scottish/English
Overall Length 99.2 cm (39.1 inches)
Blade length 86.7 cm (34.1 inches)
Blade widest point 3.8 cm (1.5 inches)
Hilt widest point 10.5 cm (4.1 inches)
Inside grip length 10 cm (3.9 inches)
Marks, etc. Three Kings Heads

Description
Early Basket Hilt with flat bun pommel, wooden grip with large iron bands top and bottom. The Guard is made up of circular iron branches with two square junction plates and forward guards. The terminal of the side guards is crude with lined decoration. The plates have lined decoration at each corner. The branches join in three groups and butt up against the pommel. The blade is wider than the slot in the hilt. The broadsword blade has no fuller and is German bearing three king’s heads indicating Solingen manufacture.

General Remarks
Described in correspondence from the Baron of Earlshall as “Date c1640-1660, blade 17th century and contemporary to the basket and made by the Wunderberg blade makers of Solingen.

Cheers Cathey And Rex
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Old 4th April 2015, 03:10 AM   #3
Jim McDougall
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Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Cathey
Hi Guys

I just want to put this to bed and get the thread back to its intended subject Basket Hilts not African blades.

Let me be clear, my sword has a German blade circa 1700, this has been confirmed by the Baron of Earshall who is the world’s foremost authority on basket hilted swords. I have seen at least seven identical examples and to even suggest someone ran around the world switching the blades over for 19th century African blade makes no sense at all. By the way one of these swords is a hand and a half in the Tower of London collection.

Variations of the crescent moon have featured on European blades dating back to the sixteen hundreds, if you want to know more go to:
SOCKEL Johan F HAANDSKYDEVAABENS BEDOMMELSE Volumes 1& 2 International Encyclopedia of the Firearms Manufacturers and Marks from 1400-1900
GYNGELL, Dudley S. Hawtrey ARMOURERS MARKS
LENKIEWICZ, Zygmunt S. 1000 SWORD MARKS OF EUROPEAN BLADEMAKERS

If those of you interested in African blades wish to continue your debate, please start your own thread, I beg you. I have been trying draw out those interested in Basket hilts for a long time and fear this attempt will also fail if we don’t get back on topic.

This being said I am now posting another basket in the hopes that we can get back on topic and encourage other basket hilt enthusiast to contribute.

Cheers Cathey and Rex
That is an excellent suggestion Cathey, and my posts on the topic of these African blades are of course clearly digressing from the theme of this thread which has been most informative and helpful on basket hilts. These swords are fascinating and very much deserving of continued research to add to core of extant data which exists, and often hard to obtain.

I will note that the contention concerning this blade on the Anglo-Irish hilt with anomalous crescent moons brings key attention to questions on the origins and development of these marks to which answers have been long sought in investigations on Solingen blades. Ironically, since Scottish swords as you have noted, were virtually always mounted with these blades, it was a quite likely context for this attention to arise.

I will post the blade topic on another thread as you suggest, and hope that participants here will continue the excellent discourse and focus on these basket hilts.
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