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Originally Posted by freebooter
In the detail I see the gold inlay is twisted gold wire.
I note this as a point of interest only, as there have been discussions about these methods and certain aspects pointing to certain time frames.
It may or may not offer directions and there are various methods of inlay, some twisted, something that I have seen on many SEA weapons, I guess more so because that is my main area of interest, some appear only to be finely chiseled with copper, silver or gold leaf is hammered in to the cut outs to fill them, others are done over deep cross hatched Koftgari type applications.
Just a point of interest.
Gav
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This is an excellent observation Gav, and sets me to wondering more on the way these kinds of decorative motif were emplaced. Since it is again, something I know little about, I'll hit the references and see what I can discover.
It seems that inlay of this kind is known from periods much earlier than these gold inlaid swords, and using different kinds of soft metal including copper and silver.
It is interesting to note that similar inlay is done on North African swords, I think only kaskara blades but whether the Saharan blades may have some examples is unclear.
As always, I would like to know more on these markings, and whether applied as simply motif or whether symbolism is imbued. In this case, the ellipse at the foot of the larger arrangement with parallel loops does seem to resemble the fish, of course a Christian symbol along with the cross at the tail.
On the larger grouping the looped figure may represent the bishops crozier (staff) which does occur on many medieval period blades.
These kinds of ecclesiastical symbols seem to occur frequently on medieval blades as often churches were central locations key to them. The practice of using religious symbolism and devotional inscriptions of course carried well through the ages with talismanic applications.
Thanks for adding this observation Gav, and I hope we can learn more on how these were installed in the blades. Its amazing to see goethite encrusted metal with the gold shining brightly through....sure goes to its everlasting durability and easy to see why it is so important symbolically as well..beyond its obvious monetary value.
All the best,
Jim