Hi guys,
Just saw this one, several comments.
First, that's rhino. The first pics show it well. The way it's broken shows the fibers also.
As Jeff noted, and according to Mr. Wilkinson-Latham who provided me with a lot of blade rubbings, catalogs and copies of sword orders from Abyssinia, the G.G. is in fact the Ges Gesh mark that was stamped on blades exported from Solingen by various manufacturers. VERY cool that someone has already ID'ed the stamp on this sword. Julius Voos also sent many swords to Ethiopia.
The Lion of Judah is based on the claim that the emporers of Abyssinia are descended from Solomon & the "queen of Sheba". Solomon & David were of the tribe of Judah, as was Jesus, who is referred to as the conquering lion of Judah. Haille Selassie had many titles, this was one, along with Light of the World. There were a few good old threads on this in the old forum.
That's a fantastic sword, Bill. Rare to find a scabbard in such good shape.
Regarding the terms used, this is the best I can figure based on what I've read and seen, so don't hold it as etched in stone.
The recurved swords are called shotels.
The curved sabre styles are called gurades.
The straight swords are often referred to as seifs. Just a guess, but I'm thinking maybe the term "seif", which is obviously arabic, filtered in over time because they are shaped like the kaskara -- which I have read on this forum is also called a seif by locals very often.
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