Kaskara in Silver Dress: an essay for comment and discussion by Ed Hunley

[Ian]

2. Stars and Comets

These examples are intriguing and are rare in my experience. The design consists of opposed comet-like head and tail swoops offset by 5–6 pointed stars. At the center front is a diamond-shaped box with four small diamonds arranged in a vertical square. I've not considered one of these covers in 3-D, seen one unrolled flat or as a template, so it is difficult to present a full picture.

Most intriguing is that the same basic design is exhibited on the oldest documented example of a kaskara, the sword of Nasir Mohammad, the Funj sultan from 1762–69 (see attached Fig. 9), as well as more modern examples. The Nasir design also is on three of the six swords in the al-Shinqiti collection as mentioned above. If the Nasir design is 200 years old and has remained unchanged for that time, it must be full of symbolism and significance to have reappeared to honor al-Shinqiti.

Examples

Fig. 9. Nasir Mohammad sword (c.1762). This sword has all the elements of a first quality kaskara: a high-end blade, marked as a German source, with a perfect high taper quillon and a star and comet silver-covered grip. Indeed, all quillons produced since this design and method of manufacture have degenerated in style and quality. [A skilled swordsmith in Kassala in 1984 said that no one currently makes quillons of that flared design.] The sword is equal in quality to the Ali Dinar (c.1900-1916) piece shown above, except it doesn't have the rich engraving on the quillons. Its “perfect” condition begs the questions: Where did it come from? What is its stylistic development history? Are there any known examples of precedent designs? The Nasir sword is shown here, with a good background by Regihis: http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=16814

Fig. 10 a,b. Two views of the same sword in the al Shinqiti Collection are attached. The theme resembles that in Fig. 9, but it has only one “V” line above top center pair of comets. Note the flared quillon (Fig. 10a). Fig. 10b shows the end of the quillon's diamond shape. I wonder if this diamond motif has symbolic relevance like the design on the diamond silver case. It looks to me that if the sword was restored, especially the pommel, it could be a brother to the Nasir Mohammad example and a potential Funj sword as well.

Fig. 11. Another sword from the al Shinqiti Collection. To my eye the silver work is virtually identical to the 1762 grip cover in Fig. 9, although the silver band at the bottom is not there.

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[Ian]

3. Silver Filigree

This type of grip treatment consists of filigreed silver tape wrapped around the wooden grip base, plus a wrap of reptile skin. Both materials have symbolic meaning. The process is of course less expensive to execute than the high-end diamond and stars examples. However, this treatment addresses the protective qualities of silver and cultural signatures of lizard skin and the traditional Beja tassel.

Examples

Fig. 12. I collected these two Hadendowa swords in Kassaka in 1984 (see attached). The one on the left was said to have been made c. 1915. Due to the similarity of its grip cover, I would date the other to the same time. This style may be a Kassala signature style. Similarly dressed Beja swords are shown on other web sites sites, and two more examples can be found here:

Fig. 13. An example in Lee Jones kaskara paper on this web site is a cut well above. View online at: http://www.vikingsword.com/ethsword/kaskara/index.html

Fig. 14. Another example is on the Oriental Arms site. View online at: http://www.oriental-arms.com/photos.php?id=1343


4. Other/Unique covers

Other embossing styles and designs will be encountered; some may be unique, one-off products of local silversmiths. If we come across other examples that can be typed as stylistically similar, we will have another type to study. Here are a couple of examples:

Fig. 15. Kind of a diamond design, but not really (see attached picture), with good views of the pommel and chape. Somewhat resembles the pommel and top caps in Fig. 12. View online at: http://www.oriental-arms.com/photos.php?id=1430

Fig. 16. A unique design on a Beja sword hilt (Fig. 16a). Also, provides a good view of the pommeland chape (Fig. 16b). View online at: http://www.swordsantiqueweapons.com/s587_full.html


B. POMMELS

Examples of different pommels have been shown along with the pictures of silver grips. A couple are rather spectacular, but these seem one-offs. (Figs. 7, Reed's Plates L1 & L2, show nice sketches of designs.) The pommels in Fig. 12, especially the top caps, are virtually identical and likely made by the same silversmith. Additionally, you will notice other similarities of type. However, I'll leave their description and analysis to others.


C. SCABBARD CHAPES AND TOP BANDS

Chapes are the triangular metal pieces at the bottom of scabbards. They prevent the point of the sword blade from penetrating the leather and causing injury. Bands at the throat of the scabbard are designed to prevent the blade from cutting the scabbard when being withdrawn or replaced. For the most part, these are made of thin light metal, usually aluminum these days, and they generally exhibit a decorative design. On higher end swords these items will be made of silver and many have elaborate designs.

Example

Fig. 17. Shows the scabbard chapes from my two Kassala swords above (Fig. 12). The left chape (of better quality) belongs to the left (better quality) sword in Fig. 12. The corresponding bands are also shown in Fig. 12.

There it is, my first cut at silver dressed kaskaras. I was surprised that my mainly online research revealed so few design motifs. Hopefully, other examples in museums and forum members’ collections will come to light. Comments, discussions and light criticism welcome.

Ed Hunley

July 2018

----------- Attachments: Figures 12, 14, 15, 16a,b, 17 ---------

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[Ian]

This thread was locked during the loading of all the material from Ed. It is now complete and open for Discussion. I want to thank Ed again for taking a considerable amount of time and effort in putting this magnum opus together.


Ian.

[David R]

Thank you for these posts. Very interesting and informative.

[TVV]

Ed, thank you very much for this essay. It is on a very interesting topic that nobody has tackled before, and I learned a lot from reading it. The essay is very well written as well.

I have a couple of questions: do you know what the symbolism behind the different motives embossed on silver hilts may be (assuming there is any)? Did you consider including the double disc pommel kaskaras in the essay?

Regards,
Teodor

[Edster]

Teodor,

Thanks for your compliments. I did considerable on-line research on any symbolism exhibited. No real luck for the covers. Of course Islamic/Sudanese cultures use a lot astrological images as symbols including images on sword blades. Its fantastic to be out at night in remote Sudan and look up at the sky. No light pollution or humidity and the heavens are alive with stars and shooting stars. That vision is bound to make an impression on the individual, society and culture. But still I found nothing that articulated that. I was hoping that members would be able to add from their research and knowledge.

Double pommels are interesting and I think mostly from Ethiopia. But I didn't include them. By the "pommels" section I was getting drained. I and others would appreciate it if you would add discussion and images them to this thread.

Best,
Ed

[TVV]

Ed, rather than repeat the research of others, here is a link to a thread that was created by Iain for the discussion of double disc pommels:

http://vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=18691

Teodor