What kind of sword is this???

[Robert]

Hello, I have been waiting to see how this thread progressed in hopes of learning the heritage of this great sword and decided I might as well add my two cents worth of ideas about this into the mix. The general shape to me looks very similar to that of a gladius and the star symbol could be a Stella Maris or star of the sea. That being said for some reason this sword (to me anyway) has a very French look to it, perhaps a French presentation sword of some kind. Not much help I'm afraid but something to think about.


Best,
Robert

[carlos]

The sword remember me one sword from the french ecole de mars.
Best regards
Carlos

[Rick]

If I could see the engraving down the blade better, I might suggest Dutch East Indies, a la Tjikeroeh .

[M ELEY]

Hmmm...One off is definitely right, but a very well made sword. I also saw the general pattern of the French Gladius, as Robert mentioned. Likewise, Carlos brings up a good point with the de mars patterns. The star and general shape of the sword, including the horn grip, reminded me of some of the Chinese jian patterns circa Boxer period. The workmanship is top-notch. The fittings appear to be pewter? And the design by which they are cut reminds one of some of the Chinese patterns I've seen. A wood scabbard is very atypical of French patterns. I've never seen a Spanish colonial piece in this shape, although the materials are right. The floral decor does resemble some of the Span types, but not unheard of on Chinese pieces as well. My vote, for what its worth, is Chinese in imitation of Euro types from the same period (c. 1850's)

[Jim McDougall]

Truly an anamoly, and I am inclined to go along with the Spanish colonial gestalt, with indicators to the Philippines. I feel that the initials and the pentagram are likely to one of the Insurrecto groups, and as noted the floral geometric pattern resemble Spanish style. It almost seems like I have seen someting similar at some point with this kind of star symbol with Filipino association but cannot locate in notes.
The resemblances to the French Ecole de Mars noted are reasonable in that there is a degree of neoclassic styling in similar sense, as mentioned with the gladius comparison. This symmetrical center point broadsword blade and the heavy block forte recall French and American patterns of infantry swords from Napoleonic into the US Civil War (the Ames M1833), with these patterned after the Roman gladius.

Im sure those out there specializing in Filipino weapons might help us out in determining if the inscribed star and initials might be from there.

[David]

Not the same style at all, but here is another Spanish Colonial sword with the initials "SB" on it (plus an extra "B").
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=15261
I also lean toward Philippines based on materials. Looks like i really nice sword.
BTW, since it's been mentioned more than one, i would like to point out that the symbol on the blade is a 5-pointed star, but technically it is not a "pentagram". A pentagram is literally "five lines" and denotes 5-pointed stars created with just 5 crossing lines. The 5-pointed star definitely has some historical connection with the Philippines, though generally it is not depicted alone, but with a half moon as a symbol of Islam or in groups of 3 along with a sun symbol as it first appeared on the flag in 1898. I've never seen this exact style of star with the internal "stick figure", but it could still be from the Philippines.

[VVV]

Thanks for all interesting comments and references!

David, I am sorry for being sloppy with how I used the term pentagram, of course you are correct on this.

Michael