Basket hilted swords

E.B. Erickson · 31st March 2015, 01:53 PM

And now for a few baskets from the continent.

Probably German, ca 1600.
32" curved se blade with single wide fuller, stamped with a mark on the left side.
Grip is a replacement that I need to replace one day, and the pommel may be a replacement as well.
Although of nice form, this is a crude munition grade basket of fairly hefty construction. There is a small curved hilt element missing on the left side of the hilt.

E.B. Erickson · 31st March 2015, 02:01 PM

German, also ca.1600
37" straight se blade with a single moderately wide fuller, stamped with a heart and cross on the left side. The heart/cross stamp has been tentatively identified as an Italian bladesmith's mark.
While the basket itself is typical, the long straight quillions are unusual, and I've only seen one other hilt of this type with quillions like these. The base of the guard consists of two solid shells, the left one with a thumbring attached.
This sword is in excavated and cleaned condition. The forward quillion is modern, and several pieces of the guard have been repaired. The leather covered grip is one of my restorations.

E.B. Erickson · 31st March 2015, 02:20 PM

German. I've seen these hilts dated from the 1550s up to about 1600.
41" straight de blade with a short central fuller in which is engraved IOHANNES.
Interesting hilt form that may have inspired Schiavonas. The oval members pierced with a slot defy identification, although I have heard a few hypotheses put forward (one of them x-rated).
The wire bound grip is one of my restorations, but the ferrules are original.

I first came across this sword in the early 1990s, when a collector that I knew got it out of a European collection. My aquaintance brought it to me because the grip was gone, and he wanted a replacement. The sword was covered in old, black, thick lacquer, which I suspect was used as a preservative in an old arsenal. The lacquer was to be removed as well. Where the lacquer resisted moisture and stuck firmly to the steel, the steel is nicely preserved, but where moisture penetrated the lacquer, some moderately deep pitting is present. So in the photos you can see areas of pitting, and right next door is a virtually pristine section of metal.

cornelistromp · 31st March 2015, 03:49 PM

@ Jim nice to see you back here :-)

@ E.B. Erickson
wow, nice
Iam still looking for one of those.
this type of basket hilt from the third quarter of the 16C, is extremely beautiful and extremely rare, there are only a few known to me.

the most beautiful I know of, is auctioned at Bonhams;

A Composite North German Basket-Hilted Sword
Sold for £2,640 (€3,602) inc. premium

Auction 14956: Fine Antique Arms & Armour from the Henk L. Visser Collection 28 Nov 2007 13:00 GMT

also pictures of two others from the same auction, the left sword was for a period in my collection, the inner guard is formed as a fleur de lis.

best,

31st March 2015, 01:53 PM	#1
E.B. Erickson Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 61	And now for a few baskets from the continent. Probably German, ca 1600. 32" curved se blade with single wide fuller, stamped with a mark on the left side. Grip is a replacement that I need to replace one day, and the pommel may be a replacement as well. Although of nice form, this is a crude munition grade basket of fairly hefty construction. There is a small curved hilt element missing on the left side of the hilt. Attached Images

31st March 2015, 02:01 PM	#2
E.B. Erickson Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 61	German, also ca.1600 37" straight se blade with a single moderately wide fuller, stamped with a heart and cross on the left side. The heart/cross stamp has been tentatively identified as an Italian bladesmith's mark. While the basket itself is typical, the long straight quillions are unusual, and I've only seen one other hilt of this type with quillions like these. The base of the guard consists of two solid shells, the left one with a thumbring attached. This sword is in excavated and cleaned condition. The forward quillion is modern, and several pieces of the guard have been repaired. The leather covered grip is one of my restorations. Attached Images

31st March 2015, 02:20 PM	#3
E.B. Erickson Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 61	German. I've seen these hilts dated from the 1550s up to about 1600. 41" straight de blade with a short central fuller in which is engraved IOHANNES. Interesting hilt form that may have inspired Schiavonas. The oval members pierced with a slot defy identification, although I have heard a few hypotheses put forward (one of them x-rated). The wire bound grip is one of my restorations, but the ferrules are original. I first came across this sword in the early 1990s, when a collector that I knew got it out of a European collection. My aquaintance brought it to me because the grip was gone, and he wanted a replacement. The sword was covered in old, black, thick lacquer, which I suspect was used as a preservative in an old arsenal. The lacquer was to be removed as well. Where the lacquer resisted moisture and stuck firmly to the steel, the steel is nicely preserved, but where moisture penetrated the lacquer, some moderately deep pitting is present. So in the photos you can see areas of pitting, and right next door is a virtually pristine section of metal. Attached Images

31st March 2015, 03:49 PM	#4
cornelistromp Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 1,060	@ Jim nice to see you back here :-) @ E.B. Erickson wow, nice Iam still looking for one of those. this type of basket hilt from the third quarter of the 16C, is extremely beautiful and extremely rare, there are only a few known to me. the most beautiful I know of, is auctioned at Bonhams; A Composite North German Basket-Hilted Sword Sold for £2,640 (€3,602) inc. premium Auction 14956: Fine Antique Arms & Armour from the Henk L. Visser Collection 28 Nov 2007 13:00 GMT also pictures of two others from the same auction, the left sword was for a period in my collection, the inner guard is formed as a fleur de lis. best, Attached Images Last edited by cornelistromp; 31st March 2015 at 04:04 PM.