Im glad I could add what I could here William, and I am always grateful to you and others who have posted these kaskara over the years. There are so many great discussions on these pages over the past two decades, and we have all learned so much together.
On these cross and orb, the true European examples are never placed at the forte of the blade, and the cross has equal arms, not flattened like this. While there were some European blades mounted in kaskara, many were quite old and had passed through many generations. The swordsmiths in Sudan became extremely skilled at crafting blades of European style, and adding their interpretations of the familiar markings on them.
Yours is a great example and as noted these braided lines suggest this to be a very good one with such a scabbard. Ed's work has been an invaluable work that has been constantly referred to by most of us here through the years, so it is ever present in discussions.
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