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

colin henshaw · 10th October 2011, 02:58 PM

Thanks Mauro.

Your sword certainly looks to be from the same family as the one I had. I wonder if the two metal inserts have some type of talismanic meaning. Maybe a native-made blade ? Is that a brass cartridge case at the end of the sheath ?

Here are a couple of images from the book "The Sherbro and its Hinterland" by T J Aldridge, 1901 (Sierra Leone), showing swords with similar shaped handles, for reference.

Plenty of scope for research here...

10th October 2011, 02:58 PM	#15
colin henshaw Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 1,429	Thanks Mauro. Your sword certainly looks to be from the same family as the one I had. I wonder if the two metal inserts have some type of talismanic meaning. Maybe a native-made blade ? Is that a brass cartridge case at the end of the sheath ? Here are a couple of images from the book "The Sherbro and its Hinterland" by T J Aldridge, 1901 (Sierra Leone), showing swords with similar shaped handles, for reference. Plenty of scope for research here... Attached Images