Takouba purchase at antique shop

[mercierarmory]

Originally Posted by Iain

3. Are there any decorative elements on the brass hilt? Is there a mixture of copper and brass plates on the pommel stack?

Here is a better picture of the hilt. There is detail on only one side and there are grooves around both ends of the grip. I didn't notice it before due to the patina, but I believe there are both copper and brass plates as you mention. Of the three plates, the copper one is sandwiched between two brass.

Mike

[Jim McDougall]

I very much agree with Iain on assessments, very late 19th into 20th c., and a soundly characteristic example of Saharan takouba. As Iain well notes, these can be presumed Tuareg, however various tribal groups carried them. The blade is of the 'masri' type (Rodd,1926) which became well established with Hausa swordsmiths, whose traditions carried well into the 20th century and the use of the dukari moon symbols used in kaskaras of Kasalla.

The interesting linear crescent motif seen on Doms example resembles the 'Lohr' type motif described in Reed (1984) and is far more associated with kaskaras of Kasallawi period than typical Saharan blade markings. This would suggest possibly an eastward potential as provenance, with these kinds of motif possibly aligned more with these kinds of motif on kaskara blades.
Regihis, these motifs do not necessarily signal ancient, as there are really few weapons especially in these regions that would meet that classification, and modern interpretations of many markings and motif as you have shown, have been carried forward rather faithfully.

[Iain]

Originally Posted by mercierarmory

Here is a better picture of the hilt. There is detail on only one side and there are grooves around both ends of the grip. I didn't notice it before due to the patina, but I believe there are both copper and brass plates as you mention. Of the three plates, the copper one is sandwiched between two brass.

Mike

Hi Mike,

Thanks for the details. I have seen this pattern before - I'm not sure a particular ethnic attribution can be arrived at from it. I had one supposedly Lobi takouba that had it - but even though it was collected from them I am virtually positive it was not made by that ethnic group. With the mixture of brass and copper this could well be a Tuareg piece and the motifs on the scabbard seem more inclined towards this than Hausa.

On these brass guards it usually seems to be three styles of decoration - the four pointed element (image attached) or a cross hatch style (image also attached) and the last a sort of swirly design (also attached). There are of course plenty of variants within this and these are really only generalizations.

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A brief note on Dom's sword since it seems to have got some attention. Generally speaking I don't like to comment on something like age unless directly asked - so, the only thing I will say is, this particular pattern of blade decoration, with the many half circles, is a motif I have seen on Tuareg pieces. It is indeed common on modern knives and swords from the Tuareg. My focus is not Tuareg examples and I may well have missed out on some study examples that are older - but I don't recall seeing it on many takouba. This is certainly not intended as a negative observation.

Jim, I think you are onto something with the Reed reference -there are some similarities for sure. I will try to post the page from the article later.
Both of Dom's swords have very nice pommels!