[Bill M]

Originally Posted by Jim McDougall

Thanks Bill! These really are fantastic!
Are these shells the cowrie shells? Are they intended to represent wealth, or is other meaning implied....too much tradition for simple decoration.....beautiful as it is.

Hi Jim,

As Freddy said in a earlier post,

Originally Posted by Freddy

I found a similar sword in the book 'Afrikanische Waffen' by Werner Fischer and Manfred A. Zirngibl (1978).

The shells on the sheath belong to the spondylus-family. They are naturally red, but are polished in order to give them a smooth surface before using them as a decorative addition.

Here's the pic from their book :

Since the older sword pictured in this post is almost identical to the one posted by Freddy, I would hope he could give us some more information about it.