Hi Ziggy,
The sword you have pictured on the top is of a hilt form that has been another mystery among sword collectors. This hilt with exaggerated finger stalls and a notch at the top of the grip seems consistant in general form, with variations in the materials used. Some are horn, while others are of solid brass. The blades as can be imagined, are all manner of trade blades, though they seem consistantly straight.
A number of years ago I acquired one of these with solid brass hilt, a crudely adapted knuckleguard with shell type crossguard that loosely resembled a stylized espada ancha hilt. The blade was an extremely heavy, crude blacksmith grade straight example, almost blunt. This particular sword was stated from Monterrey, Mexico from about c.1870's. In subsequent research I found swords of this type identified as everything from crude variants of the Mexican espada ancha to the somewhat questionable suggestion of being from 'Algerian pirates'.
Other examples occurred in groupings of Spanish Colonial swords from Mexico, which seemed of course in line with the example I had provenanced to Mexico.
It was not until some time later that I found that many of these had come up as 'bringbacks' from the Spanish American War and had come from Cuba. The connection between Mexico and Cuba of course being well established, and the Cuban provenance pretty well proven. It seems there were other references made to these some years ago, but cannot recall exactly when.
In any case I'm glad you brought these in here as it strengthens the case!
On the company you have referenced, of course they were Solingen manufacturers of trade blades, which included those found on machetes. I think the firm was brought up on threads discussing various Ethiopian swords and 'gurades'.
It sounds as if your weapons have some potentially fascinating history given the provenance you already have established with them! It would be interesting to hear more about your ancestor's activities with this company...did they have interests in Cuba?
Best regards,
Jim
|