Ethiopean Sword

[roanoa]

Sorry to disagree with some of you guys (Hi, Derek), but the hilt is NOT rhino. It is of bovine origin. Lots of humped cattle in Abyssinia with huge horns. I have enought rhino hilts and "cow" hilts in my collection to tell the difference. I agree that the main straight piece looks fibrous, BUT it is clearly "scaly". Cow horn will look translucent too. The give-away is the hole that is usully found in the "cross" piece. The tip of cow/buffalo horns is solid but not wide enough. So they are cut sideway and the end of the hole will show most of the times. By the way, I have seen several examples of the same sword with wooden hilts. And I have seen very crudely made shotes with rhino hilts. So the quality of the blade is not always associated with the quality, or material, of the hilt.