Takouba purchase at antique shop
 

I just picked this takouba today at a local antique shop. They have had it for awhile so the price was dropped and I couldn't resist.

I have never owned one and because of that I know nothing about them and how to date them. The blade is 31 1/4" long with a total of 37". the tip as you can see tapers sharply at the end for a distinct look. There are two crescent moons on each side in front of the shorter fullers.

The scabbard has some basic, but nice tooling with the only downside being that the drag has nearly seperated from the piece. It is hanging on by about 1/2" of leather. Of course with the sword inserted, it holds together nicely.

I have a couple questions for you all. Because of the unique blade shape, is it possible to narrow where this might be from? What about a date? Mid to late 19th century? 20th century?

Thanks a lot,
Mike

Nice takouba! To answer your questions:

1. The tip profile is seen on quite a few takouba. I think its a combination of intentional reprofiling and sharpening. I have speculated in the past it might have some sort of function in the Sahel areas that used heavy, quilted fabric armour. However that's a bit at odds with how takoubas seem to have been used - mainly as slashing weapons. I've seen it most on Hausa swords - but that's not to say it couldn't exist on others.

2. Late 19th to early 20th century seems possible for this piece. Better photos would help.

3. Are there any decorative elements on the brass hilt? Is there a mixture of copper and brass plates on the pommel stack?

Takouba are somewhat hard to pin down ethnically simply because of the interconnected nature of the kingdoms and areas were they were used.

Overall this looks to be a nice sword and one I would be proud to have in my own collection. Thanks for sharing. :)

Hi "mercierarmory"
same comments than "Iain",
congratulations for your purchase, good deal :p

with me a couple of takouba ;)

best regards

à +

Dom

Nice takouba! I really like the blade.

modern decoration
 

Hi brothers,
For me the models of Dom isn't ancient . This is a modern decoration. Look the two models below:


http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-G0O03Wjicm...0/Katouba4.jpg

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3115/4...8d91e26ce6.jpg

Here is a better picture of the hilt. There is detail on only one side and there are grooves around both ends of the grip. I didn't notice it before due to the patina, but I believe there are both copper and brass plates as you mention. Of the three plates, the copper one is sandwiched between two brass.

Mike

Dangerous remark you made bro. You show us probably a new piece with this decoration, but for your information this kind of decoration is also used on older pieces.
And older pieces are often copied into new pieces.

I very much agree with Iain on assessments, very late 19th into 20th c., and a soundly characteristic example of Saharan takouba. As Iain well notes, these can be presumed Tuareg, however various tribal groups carried them. The blade is of the 'masri' type (Rodd,1926) which became well established with Hausa swordsmiths, whose traditions carried well into the 20th century and the use of the dukari moon symbols used in kaskaras of Kasalla.

The interesting linear crescent motif seen on Doms example resembles the 'Lohr' type motif described in Reed (1984) and is far more associated with kaskaras of Kasallawi period than typical Saharan blade markings. This would suggest possibly an eastward potential as provenance, with these kinds of motif possibly aligned more with these kinds of motif on kaskara blades.
Regihis, these motifs do not necessarily signal ancient, as there are really few weapons especially in these regions that would meet that classification, and modern interpretations of many markings and motif as you have shown, have been carried forward rather faithfully.

Hi Mike,

Thanks for the details. I have seen this pattern before - I'm not sure a particular ethnic attribution can be arrived at from it. I had one supposedly Lobi takouba that had it - but even though it was collected from them I am virtually positive it was not made by that ethnic group. With the mixture of brass and copper this could well be a Tuareg piece and the motifs on the scabbard seem more inclined towards this than Hausa.

On these brass guards it usually seems to be three styles of decoration - the four pointed element (image attached) or a cross hatch style (image also attached) and the last a sort of swirly design (also attached). There are of course plenty of variants within this and these are really only generalizations.

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A brief note on Dom's sword since it seems to have got some attention. Generally speaking I don't like to comment on something like age unless directly asked - so, the only thing I will say is, this particular pattern of blade decoration, with the many half circles, is a motif I have seen on Tuareg pieces. It is indeed common on modern knives and swords from the Tuareg. My focus is not Tuareg examples and I may well have missed out on some study examples that are older - but I don't recall seeing it on many takouba. This is certainly not intended as a negative observation. :)

Jim, I think you are onto something with the Reed reference -there are some similarities for sure. I will try to post the page from the article later.
Both of Dom's swords have very nice pommels!