Colonial hanger, Spanish dagger or ?

[M ELEY]

Hello Jim and Happy New Year!

Thanks for responding. Did Adams establish if the so-called round tang espadas were a relatively late development in these swords, or were they seen on earlier pieces as well? You are right on when you mention the trade-routes and intricate cross-over of styles between some cultures. I'm still willing to believe W African...just too bad no exact examples forthcoming.

I find it interesting that the one characteristic which really makes one pause with classifying it (the alloy grip) is also the very thing that attracted me to it and makes it stand out. Without that, it would have been an extremely plain piece, less eye catching, yet with it, an anomaly.

Seems like the next step I might take is in testing the grip for metal type. If it does turn out to be tin or pewter, I imagine it could be older vs nickel (mid- 19th) vs zinc (late 19th/early 20th). Does anyone have any recommendations for tests?

[katana]

Hi Mark,
personally I still feel that this sword could be African ....don't forget that the Spanish had colonised parts of coastal Western Africa, as did the Portugese. The length of blade does suggest naval useage...perhaps a direct copy of those seen carried by the ships crews and onboard Marines. As the Spanish were involved in the Slave trade ....there is the possibility that this sword, or perhaps an earlier version, was issued to a native whom 'helped' in this activity, and would be a status symbol to show the individual's rank

I must point out that you could be totally correct, but without provenance and the age of the sword being unknown, this sword will be impossible to ID. I have several weapons that fall into this 'unknown' catergory .....the 'Mystery pile'

All the best
David

[M ELEY]

Thanks for commenting, David. Yes, the over-all look of this piece does hint at a naval connotation. That's one of the things that attracted me to it. Regardless of its origin, I like the piece and it continues to grow on me. I do admit that a more solid classification is my style, but if most of the evidence points to W African with Spanish influence, I can live with that. I'm still interested in a more definitive time period and would argue that it is pre-1900.

Ahh yes, the infamous "mystery pile". I have pilfered from it's stockpile many a time...

[celtan]

Guys,

The Canary islands are very, very far away from Europe, yet rather close to Africa, and they have similar made knives.

Taking into consideration the huge involvement of England in the slave trade, it is more likely that this sword might be a native copy of a British cutlass, compounded with a Canary Islands-type hilt. ( IIRC, the Spanish did not make any Cutlasses until the Napoleonic Wars. : )

Another alternative is that it might be a Filipino weapon? I does have a certain oriental "feel" to it.

TTFN

M

Originally Posted by katana

Hi Mark,
personally I still feel that this sword could be African ....don't forget that the Spanish had colonised parts of coastal Western Africa, as did the Portugese. The length of blade does suggest naval useage...perhaps a direct copy of those seen carried by the ships crews and onboard Marines. As the Spanish were involved in the Slave trade ....there is the possibility that this sword, or perhaps an earlier version, was issued to a native whom 'helped' in this activity, and would be a status symbol to show the individual's rank

I must point out that you could be totally correct, but without provenance and the age of the sword being unknown, this sword will be impossible to ID. I have several weapons that fall into this 'unknown' catergory .....the 'Mystery pile'

All the best
David

[M ELEY]

Hello Manelo and thanks for your input,

I'll have to do a little research on the Canaries. I've seen the knife from there that resembles the plug bayonet, but never one with a guard or curved blade. Your logic of the trade routes does make sense, though.

Having looked through a million old catalogs of mine and perusing the web, I do see a more than slight resemblence with the so-called Fon war sword. Likewise, the curved short blades on some Nigerian pieces (still W Africa) could fit the bill, if not an exact fit. I still see more of a Spanish influence here with the European-style blade, D-guard hilt, strapwork grip and spiral quillon. The Spanish were in the Maghreb, but not in the Dahomey empire/area, more in Spanish Morocco. Likewise, we all know of the Spanish influence on Philippine weapons. As David succintly stated, this one might always remain in the mystery pile...

[katana]

Mark, the Canaries has been a Spanish colony for many years...

"....From the late fifteenth century to 1821 the Canaries underwent a process of increasing assimilation into Spanish political and cultural norms, despite periodic attacks from North Africa and from Dutch and English privateers and pirates in the seventeenth century. By the early twenty-first century the Canary Islands still formed part of the Spanish state, included in the 1978 constitution..."
http://www.answers.com/topic/africa-...canary-islands

One other thought I had about the 'spiral' design of the hilt ....Western Africans regard the snake with great 'reverence' ....it could be argued that it is symbolic (of a snake). I wondered whether there were any markings on the metal that could support this 'theory' ....however, as the metal inlay is soft, I suspect that if there were 'markings' originally, they would probably be 'rubbed' by now.

Regards David

[Jim McDougall]

Mark, I'm glad you've kept this thread going, and probably one of the best results is in emphasizing the difficulties in identification of swords which are actually Mexican, and really not technically Spanish Colonial. When dealing with weapons which are fabricated in later periods than the weapons they in essence replicate, often even using actual earlier components, it becomes extremely difficult to accurately assess them.

The 'round tang hilt' as I have mentioned, was essentially a hanger type sabre which evolved around the 1820's, and sought to add a multiple bar handguard as seen on European military sabre hilts. In "Spanish Military Weapons in Colonial America 1700-1821", I believe the term used loosely was 'gavilan' to describe these hilts (the term if I recall refers to 'sprouts' as in wheat etc). As may be expected in the frontier environment in which these were fabricated, there were countless variations, and as mentioned, often using blades from surplus, trade or damaged weapons.
It would be difficult to establish definite periods of use, as popular use of these was essentially to carry forth traditional fashion from contemporary military styles and in some cases attempts to preserve the heritage of the Spanish ancestry, more from that point of view. It was a struggling young country seeking to create its autonomy and its own identity, which clearly reflected the diversity of its people.

The espada ancha itself developed primarily out of the recognition of the fashions of earlier times and the gentry of European countries, with one of the most likely influences being English hangers of the 17th century. While it evolved into essentially a utilitarian weapon of the frontier, very much like a machete, awareness of more military style weapons, and the multiple bar guard became popular, and probably carried well into the latter 19th century.
Even during the Porfiria, the long rule of Porfirio Diaz, swords were an element of the loosely styled police units known as 'Rurales', who wore many variations of sabres from vintage sabres of earlier times, to refurbished versions as described.

The scroll type quillon terminal noted is well established among examples of the espada ancha, and other sword variations in Mexico, which of course were produced throughout the 19th century.

The sword with the heavy blade and the unusual eaglehead hilt seems very much like the 'court' type dress swords (in this case with heavy fighting blade) which were often produced for officers or officials in what I would like to call 'regency type' weapons of Mexico. It seems that during post colonial (after 1821) times the attempts to create an 'Empire' beginning with Iturbide, also brought impressions of elevated stature to often relatively minor figures in outlying provinces and cities who sought to emulate regalia of the court atmospheres of Europe. The call for 'dress' fashion weapons was often answered by local blacksmiths who created traditional swords accordingly, and with in my opinion, admirable skill using materials available.

These are unfortunately often regarded dismissively by collectors, and clearly often misidentified, but in my opinion they represent the tenacious spririt of this diverse people seeking national identity in the most turbulent of times.

The final words in Bill Adams article, "The Unique Swords of Old Mexico" (1984) notes concerning these weapons that "...there is not yet much scholarship on the subject. I can see in the swords themselves much about the people who used them. For now, that is enough".

Well said about the weapons, but for me...it is never enough and like most of my work on studying weapons, it remains 'work in progress'.

All best regards,
Jim

[Jim McDougall]

I just wanted to add additional photos after the battle with that illustration from the Adams article which is addmittedly of poor quality, but shows the type of Mexican swords I am referring to, and which corresponds to the example shown by Mark.

Here is an illustration from Lee Jones article on this website on espada anchas which illustrates the scroll quillon, as well as excerpts from both Neumann and Peterson showing the hangers from which the espada ancha and subsequent 'roiund tang' espadas evolved.