Arrow in Scroll makers mark?

[Radboud]

Thank you for the images out of Aries, Corrado, I have L’Hoste and Blondieau but unfortunately not Aries.

Looking at those images of the Grenadier m1767, the blade looks remarkably similar to mine; almost as they came from the same source. I think we can be confident that the blade on my sabre was modelled on the m1767.

[adrian]

But what I'm intrigued about is this scroll pierced by an arrow mark on the blades' spine.

Balance the sword to see if the 'arrow' has anything to do with its point of balance, either at its arrow-head or its mid-point.

[Radboud]

Originally Posted by adrian

Balance the sword to see if the 'arrow' has anything to do with its point of balance, either at its arrow-head or its mid-point.

That's a good suggestion, I hadn't considered that. Although the balance point is at about 140mm so not close to the mark. Also it's quite an eloborate detail to show the balance point.

[Jim McDougall]

In the illustrations I posted, some of these kinds of 'squiggle' marks, clearly on the spine of the sword blade have a strange resemblance to the arrow mark on the example posted.
With this suggestion in mind, what could be the meaning of these types of marks without the arrow?

For reference, it is my post #6, the three figures at bottom of the page.

[Radboud]

Hello Jim, the three figures from the page in L'Hoste's book "Armes Blanches Symbolisme Inscriptions" are commonly referred to as "Solingen Roses" and seem to appear on many Solingen produced blades between about 1780 and 1830.

There's a lot of variation in these and unfortunately the meaning of them is unknown. But my anicdotal observations suggests that they become less complex over time until they disappear.

You will recall we have discussed these in the past and I posted a thread about them here: 'Rose' Mark on the spine of Solingen blades

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by Radboud

Hello Jim, the three figures from the page in L'Hoste's book "Armes Blanches Symbolisme Inscriptions" are commonly referred to as "Solingen Roses" and seem to appear on many Solingen produced blades between about 1780 and 1830.

There's a lot of variation in these and unfortunately the meaning of them is unknown. But my anicdotal observations suggests that they become less complex over time until they disappear.

You will recall we have discussed these in the past and I posted a thread about them here: 'Rose' Mark on the spine of Solingen blades

Thank you! That was indeed an amazing thread, and exactly the context I was thinking of in viewing this arrow mark. I had entirely forgotten the Solingen rose aspect, and it seems very much in similar convention with the arrow which seems to fall more in the Nantes motif's than the Solingen versions. My main objective was to illustrate these esoteric occult themes used on blades in these times.

While I always appreciate suggestions and thinking outside the box, as obviously I do that a great deal, the idea of the arrow having any pragmatic solution such as point of balance etc. does not seem to fit considering the other markings on spines such as the Solingen rose.
Thanks again for posting that thread, I had forgotten how intense and useful that discussion was.

[Radboud]

Originally Posted by Jim McDougall

Thank you! That was indeed an amazing thread, and exactly the context I was thinking of in viewing this arrow mark. I had entirely forgotten the Solingen rose aspect, and it seems very much in similar convention with the arrow which seems to fall more in the Nantes motif's than the Solingen versions. My main objective was to illustrate these esoteric occult themes used on blades in these times.

I tend to agree with Corrado, that this arrow and occult icongraphy in general aren't specific to Caissagnard or Nantes the region. Caissagnard just stands out as he was quite consistent with the three designs used on blades that can be attributed to his business.

You raise a good point that the arrow bound in a scroll is quite a symbolic motif. It would be wonderful to learn who put it there and what special meaning (if any) was attributed to it.