Basket hilted swords

E.B. Erickson · 26th March 2015, 11:11 AM

English, ca 1700. Hit of thin bars with fleur de lis (?), hearts, and "hooks" (I don't know what else to call them).
34" de blade, inscribed in the fuller "IESU MARIA".
Grip is sharkskin, bound with a broken copper wire, finished at each end with gilt ferrules.
Mazansky p. 175 has a hilt that's essentially a twin to this one.

E.B. Erickson · 26th March 2015, 11:16 AM

English, ca. 1750 (?)
34" se blade with narrow back fuller. The blade bears a few traces of etching.
The grip is of rayskin bound with copper wire, and is a restoration that I did myself.
Mazansky p.144-145 shows similar hilts.

E.B. Erickson · 26th March 2015, 11:21 AM

English, last half of the 1700s.
34" se blade with wide and narrow fullers, has been shortened as the fuller runs through the tip.
The basket is semi symmetrical, with 3 scroll ended bars to each side, but those on the right are larger and have connecting bars. The hilt is of very robust construction, and is finished and done so well that I think that this is an officer's sword.

E.B. Erickson · 26th March 2015, 11:27 AM

English, last half of the 1700s.
36" earlier de blade of flattened hexagon section, stamped at the forte with 3 groups of pellet marks.
Grip is shagreen bound with copper wire.
Mazansky p. 207 depicts similar hilts.
Years ago I found an old "Museum of Historical Arms" catalog from 1964, and this sword was illustrated and up for sale. Price back then? $65.

E.B. Erickson · 26th March 2015, 11:32 AM

English, last half of the 1700s.
36" se blade with wide and narrow fullers, stamped "GILL".
Oval paneled hilt with oval rein opening on the left.
Shagreen covered grip bound with copper wire.
The detachable forward guard is a modern restoration.

E.B. Erickson · 26th March 2015, 11:38 AM

Scottish "Turcael", probably first half of the 1700s.
33" curved se blade with triple fullers, stamped "ANDRIA FERARA".
Shagreen grip covering and binding is one of my restorations that is done over the original (?) wood core. I had the sword disassembled to repair some broken hilt elements, and decided to recover the grip as long as things were already apart. The woolen tassel that can be seen under the pommel is original (?).

Will M · 26th March 2015, 05:15 PM

Great regripping job. Where do you source your fishskin. I can get ray but the finer fishskin I have yet to find.

Cathey · 29th March 2015, 12:22 AM

Beak Nose Basket Hilt Sword

Nationality Scottish
Date Circa 1600
Maker/Retailer Blade possible by Stamm Clemens Soligen?
Overall Length 38 3/8” 97.4 cm
Blade length 32 ¾” 83.3 cm
Blade widest point 2” 5.1 cm
Hilt widest point 6 ½” 16.7 cm
Inside grip length 3 ¾” 9.7 cm
Marks, etc. Two Crescent moons back to back

Description
Early Scottish Ribbon Hilted "Beak Nose" Broad Sword. The large Iron hilt forged from broad Iron bars and Large circular plates, with deep engraved line borders and circles. Large bun shaped pommel with button top. The grip of fruit wood and cut with spiral fluting, there are some cracks in the wood. Wide blade of 2" with five narrow fullers of various lengths, halfway down the blade is the blade makers stamp attributed to Stamm Clemens of Solingen. Blade length is 32 ¾".

Mark has been attributed to Clemens Stamm Soligen 1580-1610 by the late dealer Terrance Porter who sold this sword in 2001.

References:
DUFTY, Arthur Richard EUROPEAN SWORDS AND DAGGERS IN THE TOWER OF LONDON Published Her Majesty's stationary office 1968.13cplate 107
NEUMANN, George G. SWORDS AND BLADES OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION pp138-139 231.S & 232.S

I have another basket in my collection that also has the back to back crescent moons, however whilst similar in design they are not identical to this one.

I know there is a hand and a half sword in the Tower of London also bearing this mark, but I have been unable to confidently attribute either version to a particular maker and would be grateful for any other views on this subject and the opportunity to see other examples of European swords with this distinctive mark.

Cheers
Cathey and Rex

E.B. Erickson · 29th March 2015, 09:59 AM

Cathey - nice ribbonhilt! Yours is in way better condition than most, and it's got a good blade, too. Thanks for posting it!

Will - Dogfish is in fact a species of shark. I still have some of the old dogfish skin left; do you want me to send you a piece? If so, let me know how big a section you need and I'll see if I've got enough left for your purposes.

--ElJay

Iain · 29th March 2015, 10:45 AM

The sword with three fullers is more or less identical to the crescents found on blades common to African broadswords, kaskara and takouba. This version of the mark is typically later (19th century) than the more well formed crescent faces as seen in the sword on the left. A few examples attached.

So I am quite interested what comes out of this topic.

Following with interest...

26th March 2015, 11:11 AM	#1
E.B. Erickson Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 61	English, ca 1700. Hit of thin bars with fleur de lis (?), hearts, and "hooks" (I don't know what else to call them). 34" de blade, inscribed in the fuller "IESU MARIA". Grip is sharkskin, bound with a broken copper wire, finished at each end with gilt ferrules. Mazansky p. 175 has a hilt that's essentially a twin to this one. Attached Images

26th March 2015, 11:16 AM	#2
E.B. Erickson Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 61	English, ca. 1750 (?) 34" se blade with narrow back fuller. The blade bears a few traces of etching. The grip is of rayskin bound with copper wire, and is a restoration that I did myself. Mazansky p.144-145 shows similar hilts. Attached Images

26th March 2015, 11:21 AM	#3
E.B. Erickson Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 61	English, last half of the 1700s. 34" se blade with wide and narrow fullers, has been shortened as the fuller runs through the tip. The basket is semi symmetrical, with 3 scroll ended bars to each side, but those on the right are larger and have connecting bars. The hilt is of very robust construction, and is finished and done so well that I think that this is an officer's sword. Attached Images

26th March 2015, 11:27 AM	#4
E.B. Erickson Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 61	English, last half of the 1700s. 36" earlier de blade of flattened hexagon section, stamped at the forte with 3 groups of pellet marks. Grip is shagreen bound with copper wire. Mazansky p. 207 depicts similar hilts. Years ago I found an old "Museum of Historical Arms" catalog from 1964, and this sword was illustrated and up for sale. Price back then? $65. Attached Images

26th March 2015, 11:32 AM	#5
E.B. Erickson Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 61	English, last half of the 1700s. 36" se blade with wide and narrow fullers, stamped "GILL". Oval paneled hilt with oval rein opening on the left. Shagreen covered grip bound with copper wire. The detachable forward guard is a modern restoration. Attached Images

26th March 2015, 11:38 AM	#6
E.B. Erickson Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 61	Scottish "Turcael", probably first half of the 1700s. 33" curved se blade with triple fullers, stamped "ANDRIA FERARA". Shagreen grip covering and binding is one of my restorations that is done over the original (?) wood core. I had the sword disassembled to repair some broken hilt elements, and decided to recover the grip as long as things were already apart. The woolen tassel that can be seen under the pommel is original (?). Attached Images

26th March 2015, 05:15 PM	#7
Will M Member Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: In the wee woods north of Napanee Ontario Posts: 395	Great regripping job. Where do you source your fishskin. I can get ray but the finer fishskin I have yet to find.

29th March 2015, 12:22 AM	#8
Cathey Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: adelaide south australia Posts: 284	Crescent Moon Marks on Basket Hilts Beak Nose Basket Hilt Sword Nationality Scottish Date Circa 1600 Maker/Retailer Blade possible by Stamm Clemens Soligen? Overall Length 38 3/8” 97.4 cm Blade length 32 ¾” 83.3 cm Blade widest point 2” 5.1 cm Hilt widest point 6 ½” 16.7 cm Inside grip length 3 ¾” 9.7 cm Marks, etc. Two Crescent moons back to back Description Early Scottish Ribbon Hilted "Beak Nose" Broad Sword. The large Iron hilt forged from broad Iron bars and Large circular plates, with deep engraved line borders and circles. Large bun shaped pommel with button top. The grip of fruit wood and cut with spiral fluting, there are some cracks in the wood. Wide blade of 2" with five narrow fullers of various lengths, halfway down the blade is the blade makers stamp attributed to Stamm Clemens of Solingen. Blade length is 32 ¾". Mark has been attributed to Clemens Stamm Soligen 1580-1610 by the late dealer Terrance Porter who sold this sword in 2001. References: DUFTY, Arthur Richard EUROPEAN SWORDS AND DAGGERS IN THE TOWER OF LONDON Published Her Majesty's stationary office 1968.13cplate 107 NEUMANN, George G. SWORDS AND BLADES OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION pp138-139 231.S & 232.S I have another basket in my collection that also has the back to back crescent moons, however whilst similar in design they are not identical to this one. I know there is a hand and a half sword in the Tower of London also bearing this mark, but I have been unable to confidently attribute either version to a particular maker and would be grateful for any other views on this subject and the opportunity to see other examples of European swords with this distinctive mark. Cheers Cathey and Rex Attached Images

29th March 2015, 09:59 AM	#9
E.B. Erickson Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 61	Cathey - nice ribbonhilt! Yours is in way better condition than most, and it's got a good blade, too. Thanks for posting it! Will - Dogfish is in fact a species of shark. I still have some of the old dogfish skin left; do you want me to send you a piece? If so, let me know how big a section you need and I'll see if I've got enough left for your purposes. --ElJay

29th March 2015, 10:45 AM	#10
Iain Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Olomouc Posts: 1,717	The sword with three fullers is more or less identical to the crescents found on blades common to African broadswords, kaskara and takouba. This version of the mark is typically later (19th century) than the more well formed crescent faces as seen in the sword on the left. A few examples attached. So I am quite interested what comes out of this topic. Following with interest... Attached Images