Makers mark on 19th century 'star and comet' Kaskara blade

jaxonrice · 9th May 2024, 01:39 PM

Hi All

I was wondering if anyone might be able to identify a mark on the blade of a 19th century ‘star and comet’ kaskara. The mark appears in the photos below just beneath the quillon in these photos and seems to be in the fuller, consisting of vertical incisions with crosshatching, with either a circle or a crescent superimposed. I attach some photos here of the mark

The Kaskara itself was recovered by Captain FM Hext of the Royal Irish Fusiliers after the battle of Tamai in 1884. It features the same ‘star and comet” type silver engraved hilt and quillon as the very early kaskara that belonged to Nasir Mohamed, the Funj sultan from AD 1762 to 1769, and that is now in Sudan National. Museum.

The single fullered blade is 93cm and total length of the kaskara is 107cm. The blade seems to have seen quite a bit of use, though still retains its sharp edge 140 years later.

I will post more photos of the sword and sheath in a reply.

Thanks in advance for any feedback

Edster · 9th May 2024, 03:38 PM

Jaxon,

Your kaskara has the famous "enigmatic mark" of unknown origin and meaning. Several Forum posts deal with it, but this one is a summary.

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...nigmatic+marks

Eager to see the rest of the sword.

Best,
Ed

jaxonrice · 9th May 2024, 04:15 PM

Hi Ed, thank you so much for the quick reply. The dimensions of the blade are exactly the same as an Austrian blade that you mentioned in another post.

Some more photos of the sword and accompanying sheath and sash...

jaxonrice · 9th May 2024, 04:16 PM

and some more....

Edster · 9th May 2024, 07:28 PM

Very nice sword and trophy. To put it in context, the battle was fought against Osman Digna and his Hadendawa warriors. (See Wiki attached). The gap at the top of the silver grip cover originally likely had the signature Hadendawa tassel.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle...l%20population.

Ed

jaxonrice · 10th May 2024, 02:09 PM

Thank you so much Ed. Would you be able to hazard a guess as to the age and origin of the blade?

Edster · 10th May 2024, 02:49 PM

During the early-mid 19th C. thousands of mostly German blades were imported into Egypt and rest of N. Africa. Traders brought them into Sudan. I documented some of the traffic into Sudan in one of my kaskara papers available on the Forum's Geographical Index.

Ed

Marc M. · 10th May 2024, 03:24 PM

Indeed a very nice kaskara.
Regards
Marc

9th May 2024, 01:39 PM	#1
jaxonrice Member Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Johannesburg, South Africa Posts: 12	Makers mark on 19th century 'star and comet' Kaskara blade Hi All I was wondering if anyone might be able to identify a mark on the blade of a 19th century ‘star and comet’ kaskara. The mark appears in the photos below just beneath the quillon in these photos and seems to be in the fuller, consisting of vertical incisions with crosshatching, with either a circle or a crescent superimposed. I attach some photos here of the mark The Kaskara itself was recovered by Captain FM Hext of the Royal Irish Fusiliers after the battle of Tamai in 1884. It features the same ‘star and comet” type silver engraved hilt and quillon as the very early kaskara that belonged to Nasir Mohamed, the Funj sultan from AD 1762 to 1769, and that is now in Sudan National. Museum. The single fullered blade is 93cm and total length of the kaskara is 107cm. The blade seems to have seen quite a bit of use, though still retains its sharp edge 140 years later. I will post more photos of the sword and sheath in a reply. Thanks in advance for any feedback Attached Images

9th May 2024, 04:15 PM	#3
jaxonrice Member Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Johannesburg, South Africa Posts: 12	Hi Ed, thank you so much for the quick reply. The dimensions of the blade are exactly the same as an Austrian blade that you mentioned in another post. Some more photos of the sword and accompanying sheath and sash... Attached Images

9th May 2024, 04:16 PM	#4
jaxonrice Member Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Johannesburg, South Africa Posts: 12	and some more.... Attached Images

9th May 2024, 03:38 PM	#2
Edster Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Posts: 408	Jaxon, Your kaskara has the famous "enigmatic mark" of unknown origin and meaning. Several Forum posts deal with it, but this one is a summary. http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...nigmatic+marks Eager to see the rest of the sword. Best, Ed

9th May 2024, 07:28 PM	#5
Edster Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Posts: 408	Very nice sword and trophy. To put it in context, the battle was fought against Osman Digna and his Hadendawa warriors. (See Wiki attached). The gap at the top of the silver grip cover originally likely had the signature Hadendawa tassel. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle...l%20population. Ed

10th May 2024, 02:09 PM	#6
jaxonrice Member Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Johannesburg, South Africa Posts: 12	Thank you so much Ed. Would you be able to hazard a guess as to the age and origin of the blade?

10th May 2024, 02:49 PM	#7
Edster Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Posts: 408	During the early-mid 19th C. thousands of mostly German blades were imported into Egypt and rest of N. Africa. Traders brought them into Sudan. I documented some of the traffic into Sudan in one of my kaskara papers available on the Forum's Geographical Index. Ed

10th May 2024, 03:24 PM	#8
Marc M. Member Join Date: Aug 2019 Location: Belgium Posts: 161	Indeed a very nice kaskara. Regards Marc