Noth African sword

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Originally Posted by blue lander

The seller described it as an Asian saber, but it looks too much like a Takouba style blade to be anything but North African. It's going to be awhile before it arrives here but I thought I'd post a few pictures from the auction.

Judging from the odd shape of the end of the blade and the way the fullers look truncated at the tip, I'm guessing this was cut down from a larger blade. The handle looks like it's riveted on, which is odd. Since the fullers look forged and the moon and crosses on the blade look stamped, is it safe to assume this was a European blade made for export to North Africa?

The maker's mark is a man in the moon with three crosses on each side. I found a Nimcha with similar markings, 4 crosses instead of three though, here

There's no sheath with it, so I'm not sure If it's possible to determine exactly where it came from. Any ideas? Or what I should call it? Was it a Nimcha at some point? Is it possible to tell where the blade was manufactured or how old it is? I got a pretty good price on it and nobody bid against me, so I hope I didn't get another dud.

Salaams blue lander,
Very interesting blade form. Clearly a reworked European blade but from where I wondered may it have originated. I thought Falchion.

Metropolitan Museum Quote."Falchion refers to a type of curved sword that was used in Europe from about 1200. This one BELOW is one of the few to survive from the late fifteenth century. Its long narrow blade and interlaced decoration on the hilt suggest the Middle Eastern influence that was an important feature in Venetian and Spanish art''.Unquote.

Transmission of Nimcha and associated weapons throughout the Mediterranean is well known.. I see this as possibly the potential design origin of your weapon at #1.

Any ideas anyone?

The crosses look similar to those at http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=3996 on #3. Perhaps it is attributable to that specific tribal group?

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi