Hi Tomahawk,
Actually, the museum people have another point we've been ignoring: how is that pommel fastened? It looks like it was nailed (or riveted) through the nostrils to two holes drilled in the blade? And the rivets are iron? (and rusty?)
Looking at the blade, the top was pretty clearly shaped for the pommel: there's a shelf where the blade was narrowed to accomodate the "mask."
Whatever the "rivets" are, the blade behind the pommel seems to show more of a patina than the rest of the blade. My new question is, can we believe that we're looking at 150 years of patina there?
Personally, I don't think so. I'm getting pretty skeptical about the purported age of this piece.
F
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