Another Mandara short sword

A.alnakkas · 21st January 2012, 05:11 PM

Hmm, reason why I thought so is that the decoration on the blade goes all the way to the tip and seems to have continued. Could be wrong though :P

Iain · 21st January 2012, 05:31 PM

I would normally think the same and it's hard to show on the photos, but the decoration actually stops just short of the tip. So I think it's the original length, it would be a typical size for this region.

Martin Lubojacky · 21st January 2012, 09:37 PM

Congratulations Iain ! This one is really good...

Iain · 21st January 2012, 10:35 PM

Thanks Martin! The photos hide the worst parts I think, there really are some twists in the blade side to side. So it is only good to look at it in profile like in the photos.

But it is a little bit rare and for something old I should not complain, I think it had a hard life and I am happy to give it a good retirement.

TVV · 22nd January 2012, 07:07 AM

Iain, very interesting sword, thanks for sharing. If this is the sword from the German on-line auction, really glad it went to you. Per the Wente-Lukas scans that you have posted before, would this make this sword Chamba?
regards,
Teodor

Iain · 23rd January 2012, 11:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TVV

Iain, very interesting sword, thanks for sharing. If this is the sword from the German on-line auction, really glad it went to you. Per the Wente-Lukas scans that you have posted before, would this make this sword Chamba?
regards,
Teodor

Hi Teodor,

Apologies for not responding earlier, somehow missed your post! Yes, it was from Germany, didn't realize many folks here knew about that particular resource.

I think it's very tough to say on pieces like this from the few scans I have at hand what the ethnicity is. I think there is similarity with the Chamba sword I have, but the blade form is entirely different. Some of these ethnic groups are very, very small and the amount of cross influence must have been large. The variety of forms coming out of the region always surprises me and in that sense, even the researchers who documented what they could, might easily have missed many sub variations.

All the best,

Iain

TVV · 24th January 2012, 12:51 AM

Iain, thank you for the answer on the tribal attribution of this really nice piece. I guess, referring to these swords as Mandara, despite their diversity, is the safest way to approach this for now. I wonder if any of these forms were also popular with the armies of Adamawa, or if these were confined to the non-Muslim groups resisting the conquest attempts of the latter.
Regards,
Teodor

21st January 2012, 10:35 PM	#4
Iain Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Olomouc Posts: 1,719	Thanks Martin! The photos hide the worst parts I think, there really are some twists in the blade side to side. So it is only good to look at it in profile like in the photos. But it is a little bit rare and for something old I should not complain, I think it had a hard life and I am happy to give it a good retirement. Last edited by Iain; 21st January 2012 at 10:51 PM.

21st January 2012, 05:11 PM	#1
A.alnakkas Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Kuwait Posts: 1,340	Hmm, reason why I thought so is that the decoration on the blade goes all the way to the tip and seems to have continued. Could be wrong though :P

21st January 2012, 05:31 PM	#2
Iain Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Olomouc Posts: 1,719	I would normally think the same and it's hard to show on the photos, but the decoration actually stops just short of the tip. So I think it's the original length, it would be a typical size for this region.

21st January 2012, 09:37 PM	#3
Martin Lubojacky Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Czech Republic Posts: 845	Congratulations Iain ! This one is really good...

22nd January 2012, 07:07 AM	#5
TVV Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Bay Area Posts: 1,666	Iain, very interesting sword, thanks for sharing. If this is the sword from the German on-line auction, really glad it went to you. Per the Wente-Lukas scans that you have posted before, would this make this sword Chamba? regards, Teodor

24th January 2012, 12:51 AM	#7
TVV Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Bay Area Posts: 1,666	Iain, thank you for the answer on the tribal attribution of this really nice piece. I guess, referring to these swords as Mandara, despite their diversity, is the safest way to approach this for now. I wonder if any of these forms were also popular with the armies of Adamawa, or if these were confined to the non-Muslim groups resisting the conquest attempts of the latter. Regards, Teodor