Gorgeous genoui with rhino horn hilt

Emanuel · 19th January 2008, 04:04 AM

This puppy just went on eBay: http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?...MEWA:IT&ih=022

Nice Moroccan genoui, the seller said the hilt was wooded, but the orange-skin look of it makes me think it's rhino horn.
Comments?

kai · 19th January 2008, 11:48 AM

Yup, seems like Artzi is also betting on a horn hilt...

CharlesS · 21st January 2008, 01:23 AM

Here is another one of very similar form and materials.

Flavio · 21st January 2008, 10:53 PM

Hi all, maybe I'm wrong but seems that the blade is a bayonet blade? Sorry for the stupid question

Emanuel · 21st January 2008, 11:09 PM

Bayonet, smallsword, sabre, most any blade from Europe I imagine. Since they were fitted with rhino horn, they must have been well thought of.
They make awesome-looking dagger I think

Jim McDougall · 21st January 2008, 11:16 PM

Very astute Flavio! and not in the least bit 'stupid' !!!
This probably is a bayonet blade, and these blades taken from the bayonets of colonial weapons quite typical on this form (genoui) as well as the s'boula which turns up as far as Zanzibar and Ethiopia referred to as a Zanzibar sword (see Burton). This is one of the reasons that references to many European and British regulation arms become closely associated to the study of ethnographic edged weapons.
The so called 'Berber' sabres, that attribution remaining somewhat in question, is typically mounted with blades from British M1796 light cavalry sabres with highly profiled tip.

Now the question would be, what type of bayonet? My guess would be 19th century French.....anybody got a bayonet book?

Best regards,
Jim

TVV · 21st January 2008, 11:29 PM

My bayonet books are at home and I am stuck at work on MLK day (sigh), so I am not sure what it is, but it does not look like a Chassepot or Gras bayonet, which is what I would have expected given the strong French presence in this part of the world from the mid 19th to the mid 20th centuries. It could be from the Berthier-Mannlicher rifle (M1892), as the blade is obviously straight with a single, wide fuller. It most certainly is not from the Spanish long M1893 Mauser bayonet.
Now, the question is, has the French Foreign Legion ever been armed with Berthier-Mannlicher rifles? If the answer is yes, then maybe we have identified the blades.

Jim McDougall · 21st January 2008, 11:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kai

Yup, seems like Artzi is also betting on a horn hilt...

Artzi's very good taste and acumen in finding excellent examples for his holdings prevails!!

19th January 2008, 04:04 AM	#1
Emanuel Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 1,242	Gorgeous genoui with rhino horn hilt This puppy just went on eBay: http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?...MEWA:IT&ih=022 Nice Moroccan genoui, the seller said the hilt was wooded, but the orange-skin look of it makes me think it's rhino horn. Comments? Attached Images

21st January 2008, 01:23 AM	#3
CharlesS Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Greenville, NC Posts: 1,857	Here is another one of very similar form and materials. Attached Images

19th January 2008, 11:48 AM	#2
kai Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 3,254	Yup, seems like Artzi is also betting on a horn hilt...

21st January 2008, 10:53 PM	#4
Flavio Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Italia Posts: 1,243	Hi all, maybe I'm wrong but seems that the blade is a bayonet blade? Sorry for the stupid question

21st January 2008, 11:09 PM	#5
Emanuel Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 1,242	Bayonet, smallsword, sabre, most any blade from Europe I imagine. Since they were fitted with rhino horn, they must have been well thought of. They make awesome-looking dagger I think

21st January 2008, 11:16 PM	#6
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 9,957	Very astute Flavio! and not in the least bit 'stupid' !!! This probably is a bayonet blade, and these blades taken from the bayonets of colonial weapons quite typical on this form (genoui) as well as the s'boula which turns up as far as Zanzibar and Ethiopia referred to as a Zanzibar sword (see Burton). This is one of the reasons that references to many European and British regulation arms become closely associated to the study of ethnographic edged weapons. The so called 'Berber' sabres, that attribution remaining somewhat in question, is typically mounted with blades from British M1796 light cavalry sabres with highly profiled tip. Now the question would be, what type of bayonet? My guess would be 19th century French.....anybody got a bayonet book? Best regards, Jim

21st January 2008, 11:29 PM	#7
TVV Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Bay Area Posts: 1,625	My bayonet books are at home and I am stuck at work on MLK day (sigh), so I am not sure what it is, but it does not look like a Chassepot or Gras bayonet, which is what I would have expected given the strong French presence in this part of the world from the mid 19th to the mid 20th centuries. It could be from the Berthier-Mannlicher rifle (M1892), as the blade is obviously straight with a single, wide fuller. It most certainly is not from the Spanish long M1893 Mauser bayonet. Now, the question is, has the French Foreign Legion ever been armed with Berthier-Mannlicher rifles? If the answer is yes, then maybe we have identified the blades.