Jim, being that the espada from the catalog with the rattle quillon is Sonoran, do you believe (just your opinion) that the cuphilt that started this thread is also of that area, or perhaps the snake analogy might have been used elsewhere? I'm not trying to pin you down, I promise. I know these pieces can be quite elusive (case in point, the Brazilian cutlass-
). In any case, I wax and wane as to whether i should add this interesting piece to my collection. Under the consideration that it might in some capacity might have seen sea service, as would be the case if it were Cuban, Brazilian, Mexican coastal, West Indies, etc, I would be more interested. Much like hangers and smallswords that are theoretical items that may have had naval use, such an attribution would make this sword more endearing to me.
Can you tell I am fishing for what I want to hear
, but seriously, if it is strictly from the SouthWest, I'll have to debate some more...