Central? African sword for ID/Comment

Freddy · 11th October 2005, 06:10 PM

Age of an African blade is hard to tell. You must keep in mind that the conditions in some parts of Africa are far from perfect (moisture, etc...). So a weapon from the beginning of the 20th century can be quite old. Most African weapons in museums date from the end of the 19th century. A time when Africa was being 'discovered'. So is this old ? In African terms, yes.
It's no use comparing with, for example, a Japanese katana that can be centuries old.

You say that your sword blade has perhaps been 'overcleaned'. I wouldn't worry about that. Most African weapons we find here in Europe (Belgium) have a kind of dark patina. At first, I thought that this was the way it should be. Until....I read in a book that the warriors in some parts of Central Africa kept their swords and knives highly polished. They took real good care of their weapons, as any good soldier/warrior.

One some weapons (for example : spears) the blades are partially blackened, with polished edges . This was done to embellish the piece.

The quality of forging is something we need to look at more.

11th October 2005, 06:10 PM	#7
Freddy Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Sint-Amandsberg (near Ghent, Belgium) Posts: 830	Age of an African blade is hard to tell. You must keep in mind that the conditions in some parts of Africa are far from perfect (moisture, etc...). So a weapon from the beginning of the 20th century can be quite old. Most African weapons in museums date from the end of the 19th century. A time when Africa was being 'discovered'. So is this old ? In African terms, yes. It's no use comparing with, for example, a Japanese katana that can be centuries old. You say that your sword blade has perhaps been 'overcleaned'. I wouldn't worry about that. Most African weapons we find here in Europe (Belgium) have a kind of dark patina. At first, I thought that this was the way it should be. Until....I read in a book that the warriors in some parts of Central Africa kept their swords and knives highly polished. They took real good care of their weapons, as any good soldier/warrior. One some weapons (for example : spears) the blades are partially blackened, with polished edges . This was done to embellish the piece. The quality of forging is something we need to look at more.