A little Sahel/Maghreb panoply...

[Iain]

Next up the triple fuller takouba. It's had a hard life! But it's one of the truly old ones with bit sturdy iron pommel and great balance.

Interestingly this one never had brass guard plates, the one side, the iron plate is decorated. Which is rather unusual.

[Iain]

Finally the single fuller... Something I mentioned before I was quite excited to get.

This one is truly special and joins a small group of swords I'm fortunate enough to own with very old blades.

This has a "fly" stamp associated with Italy and in particular schiavona at the base of the blade. The remains of an inlaid running wolf (latten) can be seen in the fuller.

For a takouba the entire thing is extremely unusual with a sharp tip and rare guard and pommel form as well as a deeply engraved cross in the hilt.

[Iain]

And finally because of a comment from Charles:

Lovely pieces. The takoubas look to have quality and sturdier than usual blades. Both are quite nice!

I thought I'd post a group shot of a few of these 'sturdy' takouba with similar pommel styles. I think it's a great reminder that often times in ethnographic arms later examples really do serve more of a fashion/ceremonial role. But there are true battle worthy examples lurking out there!

These are just a few I managed to group together, there are more, but trying to fit these into one shot in was exhausting enough.

[Sajen]

Originally Posted by Iain

These are just a few I managed to group together, there are more, but trying to fit these into one shot in was exhausting enough.

Wow, impressive!