Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post - Kaskara Cross-guards—a second essay for comment by Ed Hunley

Ian · 19th August 2018, 01:16 AM

5. Thuluth Cast Copper Alloy Quillons

Thuluth style swords have prayers etched on the blade. Some blades are battle quality, but others are relatively thin and meant for symbolic purposes (or even as souvenirs). They were popular during the Mahdiya period (1881–1898), while others may have been produced during the early post-reconquest period. The quillons are variously described as cast brass or cast bronze and have langets like the other types described herein. Most have rounded button-like tips (Figure 18; Heritage Auctions). Also, note the sharpened blade edge noting a more serious purpose. Others may exhibit a tip profile suggestive of the Sennariya style (Figure 19).

It is unclear where these swords were made. During the Khalifa's administration the import of copper from Egypt was restricted and available supplies were likely used to make rifle ammunition in Omdurman's arsenal. Informants in Kassala in 1984 said that they had done brass casting there in the undefined past, but offered no further explanation. In 1871, Frederic-Benoit Garnier wrote about imports through Suakin from Egypt. Andreas, in a 2014 Ethnographic Arms and Armor post, translates from the French that “among the goods were blades and cross guards of German manufacture.” The type and material of these cross-guards are not further identified nor was their ultimate disposition. They could have sat in a warehouse in Khartoum until found and used, if cast copper alloy, on Thuluth swords during the Mahdiya.

The Thuluth style sword, blade and quillon, is more or less a dead end. Its popularity was apparently short lived and associated mainly with the Mahdiya. It likely would never be seen in the field as a symbol of authority or a weapon for self-defense or conflict. Yet the type is interesting historically and stylistically. Jim McDougall and Iain Norman have discussed the form extensively and their inputs are well worth absorbing. More information and discussion of this type of sword can be found in the links below, among others.

Fig. 20 http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=14711
Fig. 21 http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=16477
Fig. 22 http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?p=220571

Additionally, Figure 23 comes from a report (http://cool.conservation-us.org/anag...GPIC_Grady.pdf) of a technical appraisal and protective treatment of a Thuluth sword and monitor lizard skin scabbard. It is interesting not because it is Thuluth, but due to the assessment and treatment processes. The cross-guard, like the Heritage Auctions’ example in Fig. 18, was thought likely to have been made of recycled brass and copper materials (Grady, p.14).

Structural Role of Cross-guards

In addition to its protective and decorative roles, the cross-guard performs a structural role. The wooden grip is cut and relieved to wedge between the blade and the guard to securely hold it in place. [See the wooden handle driven into the quillon in Figure 17.] Also the vertical langets fit into the slots in the wood grip (see also Figure 10).

Many, perhaps most, blades have a flat tang 2-3 inches long with an approximately ¼-inch hole. They seem to be typical in both imported and native blades, but I am open to correction. It is of a width much less than the blade. A tang with such a hole is shown in Figure 24 (Mefidk). [This tang seems to have a more defined outline than the few native blades I seen. I wonder if tang shape could be diagnostic for native or imported blades.] The soft wooden grip has a hole cut in it to accept the tang. Additionally, the grip is inlet/open-mortised to accept the vertical “up” langets of the quillon. The bottom of the grip is relieved to be tapped between the opening in the quillon to vedge in the blade. A pin is then inserted through the grip, through the tang hole, and peened to hold the parts securely together. The second from the left in Figure 25 (Colin Henshaw) has a pin. The other three examples are indeterminate.

A 2018 a video made in the Kassala sword suq shows a different way to attach the blade and wooden grip (Figure 26; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiwvGpbYhms). Here the smith inserts a “rat tail” type sword tang into the grip and into the cross-guard (see video at 47 seconds). This seems less secure than the pinned tang method, but the design shown may facilitate easier assembly, and now that the sword is mainly ceremonial and not subject to the rigors of combat the fixing of the hilt and guard may not need to be as strong as previously. The video also shows craftsmen smoothing a newly made cross-guard. Its interesting to see that swords are still being made in essentially the same way as in 1984, and basically forever.

It appears that all of the swords brought back to Britain as war trophies in the late 19th C were of a homogenous design within the scope of the Samanniya, Sennariya and so called Thuluth styles, either plain, silver or reptile dressed. The Samanniya with its slightly flared ends appears by far to be dominant.

----------Figures 18,19,24,25----------
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19th August 2018, 01:16 AM	#5
Ian Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: The Aussie Bush Posts: 4,029	Kaskara Cross-guards—a second essay for comment by Ed Hunley (part 5) 5. Thuluth Cast Copper Alloy Quillons Thuluth style swords have prayers etched on the blade. Some blades are battle quality, but others are relatively thin and meant for symbolic purposes (or even as souvenirs). They were popular during the Mahdiya period (1881–1898), while others may have been produced during the early post-reconquest period. The quillons are variously described as cast brass or cast bronze and have langets like the other types described herein. Most have rounded button-like tips (Figure 18; Heritage Auctions). Also, note the sharpened blade edge noting a more serious purpose. Others may exhibit a tip profile suggestive of the Sennariya style (Figure 19). It is unclear where these swords were made. During the Khalifa's administration the import of copper from Egypt was restricted and available supplies were likely used to make rifle ammunition in Omdurman's arsenal. Informants in Kassala in 1984 said that they had done brass casting there in the undefined past, but offered no further explanation. In 1871, Frederic-Benoit Garnier wrote about imports through Suakin from Egypt. Andreas, in a 2014 Ethnographic Arms and Armor post, translates from the French that “among the goods were blades and cross guards of German manufacture.” The type and material of these cross-guards are not further identified nor was their ultimate disposition. They could have sat in a warehouse in Khartoum until found and used, if cast copper alloy, on Thuluth swords during the Mahdiya. The Thuluth style sword, blade and quillon, is more or less a dead end. Its popularity was apparently short lived and associated mainly with the Mahdiya. It likely would never be seen in the field as a symbol of authority or a weapon for self-defense or conflict. Yet the type is interesting historically and stylistically. Jim McDougall and Iain Norman have discussed the form extensively and their inputs are well worth absorbing. More information and discussion of this type of sword can be found in the links below, among others. Fig. 20 http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=14711 Fig. 21 http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=16477 Fig. 22 http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?p=220571 Additionally, Figure 23 comes from a report (http://cool.conservation-us.org/anag...GPIC_Grady.pdf) of a technical appraisal and protective treatment of a Thuluth sword and monitor lizard skin scabbard. It is interesting not because it is Thuluth, but due to the assessment and treatment processes. The cross-guard, like the Heritage Auctions’ example in Fig. 18, was thought likely to have been made of recycled brass and copper materials (Grady, p.14). Structural Role of Cross-guards In addition to its protective and decorative roles, the cross-guard performs a structural role. The wooden grip is cut and relieved to wedge between the blade and the guard to securely hold it in place. [See the wooden handle driven into the quillon in Figure 17.] Also the vertical langets fit into the slots in the wood grip (see also Figure 10). Many, perhaps most, blades have a flat tang 2-3 inches long with an approximately ¼-inch hole. They seem to be typical in both imported and native blades, but I am open to correction. It is of a width much less than the blade. A tang with such a hole is shown in Figure 24 (Mefidk). [This tang seems to have a more defined outline than the few native blades I seen. I wonder if tang shape could be diagnostic for native or imported blades.] The soft wooden grip has a hole cut in it to accept the tang. Additionally, the grip is inlet/open-mortised to accept the vertical “up” langets of the quillon. The bottom of the grip is relieved to be tapped between the opening in the quillon to vedge in the blade. A pin is then inserted through the grip, through the tang hole, and peened to hold the parts securely together. The second from the left in Figure 25 (Colin Henshaw) has a pin. The other three examples are indeterminate. A 2018 a video made in the Kassala sword suq shows a different way to attach the blade and wooden grip (Figure 26; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiwvGpbYhms). Here the smith inserts a “rat tail” type sword tang into the grip and into the cross-guard (see video at 47 seconds). This seems less secure than the pinned tang method, but the design shown may facilitate easier assembly, and now that the sword is mainly ceremonial and not subject to the rigors of combat the fixing of the hilt and guard may not need to be as strong as previously. The video also shows craftsmen smoothing a newly made cross-guard. Its interesting to see that swords are still being made in essentially the same way as in 1984, and basically forever. It appears that all of the swords brought back to Britain as war trophies in the late 19th C were of a homogenous design within the scope of the Samanniya, Sennariya and so called Thuluth styles, either plain, silver or reptile dressed. The Samanniya with its slightly flared ends appears by far to be dominant. ----------Figures 18,19,24,25---------- . Attached Images Last edited by Ian; 21st August 2018 at 03:26 AM.