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25th November 2023, 03:31 AM | #1 |
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I cannot believe these basket hilts you have acquired! This one is amazing, and everything about it seems to be in the manner of John Simpson #2 of Glasgow who was admitted Freeman of Hammermen of Glasgow in 1711. He died in 1749 (Whitelaw, 1934, p.307) .
On the underside of the guard, if this hilt is marked it would be I.S. G It might not be signed , but it seems to follow hilts by him, so perhaps the shop . Similar seen in Wallace (1970, "Scottish Swords and Dirks" #32. ) as 1730-40. In "Swords and the Sorrows" (1996), p.32, 1:18 is strikingly similar and carried at Sheriffmuir (1715) and Prestonpans (1745) and of course Jacobite. The pierced 'heart' (triangles) and dot configurations are in same manner. The blade is of course far earlier than the first quarter 18th of the hilt. Solingen in the fuller is one of many applications of markings on these earlier blades, and typically there will not be a date, or for that matter a maker name. The marking is a Solingen version of the crescent moon mark often used on Spanish blades in 16th into 17th c. along with makers punzone, believed to indicate the espadero del Rey, maker to the king. These seem to have been sometimes added to blades as of course quality suggestion or similar imbuement. I have a 'mortuary' which dates c. 1640s possibly Hounslow, or so suggested, having a Solingen ANDREA FERARA blade with a mark very similar, which suggests your blade is likely around mid 17th c. The import of German blades is of course well known, with the ANDREA FERARA blades most ubiquitous in Scottish context. Apparently there was a 17th c. shipwreck off the Scottish coast which when found yielded over two thousand blades. Remarkable example!!!!! |
28th November 2023, 03:56 PM | #2 |
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Thanks for the opportunity to see this nice basket hilt.
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2nd December 2023, 02:49 AM | #3 |
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I love this!
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4th December 2023, 07:11 AM | #4 |
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Me too! especially the resounding response!
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4th December 2023, 07:03 PM | #5 |
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4th December 2023, 09:56 PM | #6 |
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Gentlemen: I own a number of relevant reference books including "Culloden - The Swords and the Sorrows," "British Basket-Hilted Swords" (Mazansky) and "British Military Swords - Volume I; 1600 - 1660." Even with the books at hand and a growing knowledge of my own, it is always very helpful to have experts such as yourselves share your opinions and views. I truly welcome any feedback. truth be told, it was feedback regarding earlier postings that helped me decide to trade away some swords for the ones I listed recently...
I do have a question for the group: In my antique arms show visits, auction reviews, museum visits and travel I have seen many so called "Sinclair Swords", Tessaks, Dussages, etc. It seems to me that there must be thousands of those swords out there between collectors and museums. Are you aware of a credible reference book focused on those weapons? |
5th December 2023, 02:00 AM | #7 | |
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Quote:
Basically, hoping for discussion. I learn by writing out my piles of scribbled notes from the research I do before posting, so my thought is why not share what I have found. I guess that might be over responding? My 'knowledge' is comprised simply of hours of digging through notes and books in hopes of writing a useful synopsis concerning the weapon at hand, hardly an encyclopedic knowledge myself. Thank you for the kind words, and I regret the blunt slip. All the best Jim |
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5th December 2023, 12:18 PM | #8 |
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S.L,
The question on any work that is specifically to the range of swords that seem to collectively fall into the group, of which the so called 'Sinclair saber' is a good one. Typically these kinds of weapons actually are more transcendent, that is they have rather evolved contemporarily as essentially combinations of other types of sword. If I have understood correctly these were combined saber blades, often of heavier type combined with the hilts of field swords (degen) from 16th through 17th c. Then there is the terminology (name game) which is the variety of German terms, dusack, dusagge basically, as well as the Czech term 'tessak' . This 'form' of heavy saber was in use into the North Europe regions, including Norway, where it gained the term 'Sinclair' saber in Scottish parlance from the fateful expedition of Scottish mercenaries during Kalmar Wars 1611-1613. The term became colloquially used by Victorian writers for these 'tessak/dusagge' swords commemorating George Sinclair who was killed in those events as he was a prominent clan figure. As far as I know, only the general arms references including various sword forms refer to these sabers in summary. While broader types such as the basket hilt have works pretty much specific to them, others are typically among the collective studies of sword forms. These include of course, schiavona, walloon, mortuary, Pappenheimer, et al but the only specific references are usually in the corpus of arms articles in various journals and other published periodical material. To locate these it takes going through bibliographies and these kinds of sourced material to locate specific references. Others here far more well versed in references in other languages in Europe may offer some books with more detailed information of course. |
5th December 2023, 12:46 PM | #9 | |
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Quote:
Dear Jim, My comments were never intended to be a criticism but couched admiration for taking the time and effort to share your knowledge and research. I am sure everybody on the Forum appreciates your input and enthusiasm, I sure do, so long may you keep on doing what you do. Kind Regards, Norman. |
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