West African ? sword for I.D. and comment.

[Iain]

It's Mandingo - a style popular with the sub-population in modern day Liberia.

Reference: http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypld...472807&imageID...

I like this one, often the blades are not of particularly high quality. This one looks quite nice. The example I linked above is from 1906, I know of at least one other that was collected from the same period, but your scabbard makes me think that at least that, is later work. The blade certainly seems to have the age to be turn of the century though.

Here's a chap from the same region holding a similar sword: http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypld...=0&print=small

The half moon mark is found rather widely and the blade trade flowing from and through the Hausa city states and then into West African no doubt helped to proliferate the mark as a sign of quality.

Other Sahel influences are clear on the scabbard, where the leather has been formed to mimic the brass throat with cutouts of a typical takouba scabbard.

Cheers,

Iainhttp://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypld...20&pNum=&pos=9