Hi Tim,
I have not yet received the sword....so better pics will have to come later. The seller trades alot of African items from West Africa and this is where the sword was sourced. Not that it proves IT IS African....personally my 'gut instinct' says African...the diagonal lines seem typical, the cylindrical 'guardless' hilt etc. The example on Therion is very similar in dimension, weight, the cylindrical hilt and blade design. The blade (on Therion)is 1 3/8" (3.4 cms) longer and is 1/2" (1.2 cm) wider, although mine weighs approx. 5 1/2 ozs more. (approx 150g).
The 'Gladius' was hugely successful for the Roman Army, seeing that the coastal areas of North Africa were Roman controlled for many years...I do not think it unreasonable that the design may have been adopted and spread via trading routes. In fact, I am surprised that 'gladius' styled swords seem very atypical,for Africa, especially in certain environments where swinging a larger sword would be awkward.
However, I really like the simplicity and 'meatyness' of this sword
and if they are rare......ish for Africa and this turns out to be from there.....then
