Basket Hilted Back Sword (Irish Hilt)
			 
			 
			
		
		
		
			
			Hi Guys 
 
Just looking back at what I have and haven’t posted on this thread already and realised I missed the third of my Spiracle Pommel Swords, so here it is. 
 
Basket Hilted Back Sword (Irish Hilt) 
Date:  Circa 1615-40 
Nationality:  British 
Overall Length:  108.6 cm  42 ¾” 
Blade length:  95.1 cm  37 5/8” 
Blade widest point:  2.8 cm  1 1/8” 
Hilt widest point:  11.3 cm  4 2/4” 
Inside grip length:  8.5 cm  3 3/8” 
Marks, etc.:  Blade marked to both sides to a German, Solingen Swordsmith, “CLEMENS DINGER”. 
 
With regards to marks, I flipped the picture of the two makes under the hilt upside down and what I first thought looked like some kind of snake now looks more like two swans.  Sometimes I think the more you look at sword marks the more confusing they get. 
 
Description 
English Basket Hilt circa 1615-40 
English basket hilt sword (Irish Hilt) of early form, approx. Staghorn grip (latter replacement), steel guard of early type with the feature of a loop in the nut that attaches the guard to the Spherical pommel.  The backsword blade is attributed to Clemens Dingen (II) recorded as working 1630-1710 and marked with CLEMENS DINGER and the Orb and cross on both sides. 
 
References: 
MAZANSKY (C.)   BRITISH BASKET-HILTED SWORDS: A TYPOLOGY OF BASKET-TYPE SWORD HILTS pp67 
MOWBRAY, Stuart C BRITISH MILITARY SWORDS VOLUME ONE 1600-1660 The English Civil Wars and the Birth of the British Standing Army pp122 
OAKESHOTT, Ewart  EUROPEAN WEAPONS AND ARMOUR From the Renaissance to the Industrial Revolution pp176-178 
 
Cheers Cathey and Rex
		 
		
		
		
			
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
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