Andria Ferara Blade

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by Bryce

G'day Guys,
I actually purchased this sword 4 months ago, but it has only just arrived. USPS misplaced it for over 3 months?

In the mean time I had forgotten how many early to mid 17th century examples of this style of blade I had found searching the net. I couldn't find any 18th century examples.

Jim, I think any connection to the East based on the blade engraving style may be very tenuous indeed. Could this actually be a Hounslow blade? There is evidence that the 17th century cutler Benjamin Stone got into trouble for putting "false marks" on his blades.

Cheers,
Bryce

Im glad you finally got it Bryce!
The EIC connection might indeed be quite tenuous, however the use of these 'chop' characters is distinctly Eastern of course. There were considerable connections where it was quite fashionable to wear 'exotic' swords....in the 17th c. there were English gentry wearing kastane from Ceylon; and nimcha from the Meditteranean.
The Dutch had 'factories' in Peking, and eventually brought Chinese artisans to the Netherlands. A style of small sword termed Tonquinese developed with EIC there and in England (Tonquin was actually Viet Nam) and shakudo was a style of decoration of the time primarily Japanese.

In Europe, 'Chinese' style became popular in the 18th c. and brought into hilt styles in many cases.

It does not seem unreasonable that the 'oriental' theme which had become so fashionable might be used to apply a famed name often thought of in an almost 'magical' character, and in this exotic 'chop' to further that effect.
This seems possible even more because a spurious name or mark this far 'outside the box' can only have been added in such manner, as it would hardly be perceived as authentic of the standard manner of application.

This would not have had anything to do with Stone or Hounslow. The shops there were mostly closed when captured by Cromwell, who actually used the mills for powder. Most of the smiths went to Oxford with the King's supply sources. Stone was actually a kind of broker not a maker, and had a mark of 'grapes' but did not really use it if I recall, in fact not any mark I recall.I recall the charge but nothing was specified nor followed up on.
There were Solingen blades with 'proper' Andrea Ferara marks on the mortuaries made probably at Oxford (I have one), where the letters are the usual block letters within the 'sickle' marks.