Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

Jim McDougall · 26th January 2011, 06:08 PM

Hi David, and welcome to the forum,
As Norman and Fernando have noted, the early makers trademarks thread does contain a lot of information on many aspects of the images and inscriptions found on blades. When I began the thread in 2007, it was the result of my fascination with this particular field of study in weapons, and very much remains so. Your sword is definitely intriguing, and I have been trying to form some ideas in assessing it as close as is possible without the benefit of actual handling and more detailed images.

The hilt is most interesting and suggests a military style officers sword which reminds me of mostly low country walloon type or Northern European forms. While I have not found anything that corresponds directly, but of course the type is of wide use, and this, with the subtle baroque designs seems of 18th century. Some of the guys more familiar with these kinds of hilts may be of more help.

The running wolf seems of the earlier form, but it must be remembered that these highly stylized zoomorphic impressions were incised by individual chisel strokes by craftsmen and not intended to be artistic renderings. Originally these 'wolf' markings were to represent compliance with guilds, but later became recognized as carrying talismanic properties in the manner of the so called 'Passau art' and as such were soon widely copied.

Regarding the numbers on the blade, as noted these kinds of numbers do not specify a date in most cases, and this has caused many instances of misperception in assessing the period of quite a few sword blades. The use of numbers in either palindromes or in coded numerics to fashion a magical configuration, in the sense of 'magic squares' and those type amuletic devices was well known in the 17th and 18th century on blades. These often corresponded with other amuletic devices such as the 'wolf', the cross and orb, and many others and were typically arranged with them in the blade markings.

In the case of this blade, the numbers seem to be ' 7 4 7' rather than 1747, and the figure at the outset of the numbers on one side may be a 'tau' cross rather than a 1. It is interesting that these numbers do not have serifs, which would seem more characteristic, but it is hard to determine whether that is significant at this point. Many of these numbers were inscribed in calligraphic script rather than in these bold Roman numerals.

The small cross at the end of the 747 seems to be the Maltese type cross or Greek type cross, and emplaced in this manner much as on earlier blades that preceded the wolf marked types, even as early as on those of the Ulfberht type. As these crosses were typically used by Bishops in signatures, it seems reasonable to see them added with often religiously oriented phrases and talismanically imbued numbers. The numbers 7 and 4 were key numbers in gemetria that were considered lucky and thus 'protective'.

As for the diagonal lines, it is hard to say exactly what the intent was here, though after studying many blades and weapons of India, it is mindful of the well known 'bubris' or 'tiger stripes' that were key to motif to Tipu Sultan in the 1790s. While not suggesting that this has anything to do with these lines, it seemed worthy of note, as in India, armourers were keenly intrigued by European blade markings and inscriptions and thier implication of the quality and often copied them on the 'firangi' blades.

The makara type heads on the quillon terminals on this hilt, as well as the scallop shell on the guard bring to mind the presence of the Dutch in the East Indies as does the fluting on the pommel cap in rosette style. Perhaps this may have been a military sword of 18th century with the blade cut down to better comply with maritime use? If it was Dutch and in regions of Indian influence in latter 18th century, perhaps even the bubris idea may have some merit?

A fascinating sword, and thank you for sharing it here!

All best regards,
Jim

26th January 2011, 06:08 PM	#7
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 9,753	Hi David, and welcome to the forum, As Norman and Fernando have noted, the early makers trademarks thread does contain a lot of information on many aspects of the images and inscriptions found on blades. When I began the thread in 2007, it was the result of my fascination with this particular field of study in weapons, and very much remains so. Your sword is definitely intriguing, and I have been trying to form some ideas in assessing it as close as is possible without the benefit of actual handling and more detailed images. The hilt is most interesting and suggests a military style officers sword which reminds me of mostly low country walloon type or Northern European forms. While I have not found anything that corresponds directly, but of course the type is of wide use, and this, with the subtle baroque designs seems of 18th century. Some of the guys more familiar with these kinds of hilts may be of more help. The running wolf seems of the earlier form, but it must be remembered that these highly stylized zoomorphic impressions were incised by individual chisel strokes by craftsmen and not intended to be artistic renderings. Originally these 'wolf' markings were to represent compliance with guilds, but later became recognized as carrying talismanic properties in the manner of the so called 'Passau art' and as such were soon widely copied. Regarding the numbers on the blade, as noted these kinds of numbers do not specify a date in most cases, and this has caused many instances of misperception in assessing the period of quite a few sword blades. The use of numbers in either palindromes or in coded numerics to fashion a magical configuration, in the sense of 'magic squares' and those type amuletic devices was well known in the 17th and 18th century on blades. These often corresponded with other amuletic devices such as the 'wolf', the cross and orb, and many others and were typically arranged with them in the blade markings. In the case of this blade, the numbers seem to be ' 7 4 7' rather than 1747, and the figure at the outset of the numbers on one side may be a 'tau' cross rather than a 1. It is interesting that these numbers do not have serifs, which would seem more characteristic, but it is hard to determine whether that is significant at this point. Many of these numbers were inscribed in calligraphic script rather than in these bold Roman numerals. The small cross at the end of the 747 seems to be the Maltese type cross or Greek type cross, and emplaced in this manner much as on earlier blades that preceded the wolf marked types, even as early as on those of the Ulfberht type. As these crosses were typically used by Bishops in signatures, it seems reasonable to see them added with often religiously oriented phrases and talismanically imbued numbers. The numbers 7 and 4 were key numbers in gemetria that were considered lucky and thus 'protective'. As for the diagonal lines, it is hard to say exactly what the intent was here, though after studying many blades and weapons of India, it is mindful of the well known 'bubris' or 'tiger stripes' that were key to motif to Tipu Sultan in the 1790s. While not suggesting that this has anything to do with these lines, it seemed worthy of note, as in India, armourers were keenly intrigued by European blade markings and inscriptions and thier implication of the quality and often copied them on the 'firangi' blades. The makara type heads on the quillon terminals on this hilt, as well as the scallop shell on the guard bring to mind the presence of the Dutch in the East Indies as does the fluting on the pommel cap in rosette style. Perhaps this may have been a military sword of 18th century with the blade cut down to better comply with maritime use? If it was Dutch and in regions of Indian influence in latter 18th century, perhaps even the bubris idea may have some merit? A fascinating sword, and thank you for sharing it here! All best regards, Jim Last edited by Jim McDougall; 27th January 2011 at 04:54 AM.