Quote:
Originally Posted by Radboud
Hello Jim,
Thank you for the comments, when the sword arrives I’ll measure it and add the results to this post with photos. However, according to the vendor it does not balance that well with the blade being heavy for the hilt.
Regarding the Andrea Farara markings there seems to be a lot of variation on these as they were pretty much all spurious, being added to blades for the Scottish market by Solingen makers by the time this blade was made. However I have seen photos of two basket hilt broadswords dating to the mid 18th C. That have a similar shape and markings with the Xs and the name across two sides (with the same orientation).
I’m fairly confident that this blade is a few decades older than the hilt the only thing that concerns me in that regard is that it is in very good condition without many of the usual age blemishes.
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The balance issues as you have noted sound more in line with what I would have expected, and I think I was more impressed with actually seeing it in person, but not in the necessary holding postures.
The ANDREA FERARA blades for Scottish markets began appearing early in the 17th century and remained pretty standard up until Culloden (1746).
After that the only 'Scottish' swords were those made for the British army Highland regiments, as they had been produced in garrison towns since early 1700s.
Naturally the ANDREA FERARA blades were from Solingen and that mark became a kind of 'brand' to Scottish clients, however they did occur on English blades as well (I have a 'mortuary' c. 1642 with Ferara blade).
I share your concerns on the remarkable condition, as well as the character of the Andrea Ferara despite its following earlier configurations.