Mysterious sword

[Battara]

Originally Posted by Albert

I put much effort in cleaning the totally black silver.
Maybe too much?

Yes a little. A little patina can accentuate the filigree work as well as keep the signature of age and dating.

[Robert]

Yes a little. A little patina can accentuate the filigree work as well as keep the signature of age and dating.

I agree with this with the exception of dating. Oxidizing the background silver most definitely accentuates the filigree itself and helps showcase the intricacy of that work. On the other hand, with a bit of work it is way to easy through the use of chemicals to reproduce what has now been removed by a bit of overcleaning. My personal opinion is that using oxidation as a basis for dating is not a good practice. There are those out there (and most likely a few here in the forum) that are good enough at this procedure who can make a piece like this look as old as they would like. The best of these can even fool the experts. I have been told many times (and believe) that the only true way of trying to place an accurate date on anything is the knowledge obtained from years of hands on experience. JMHO.

Best,
Robert

[Albert]

Here are some additional photo's.
I hope, it gives extra information to pinpoint this sword.