Sword identification

[fernando]

Until better opinion, i would bet on the Solingen origin, such as used for export.
The symbols (Solingen Orb type) are unusual, although recognisable by some.
It looks like they are connected to something more defined than the usual generic stuff.
May i put it upright ?
... and maybe with time you can get a better picture ?

.

[fernando]

Have you visited this thread, Jesse ?

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=5453

[JesseS]

Originally Posted by fernando

Have you visited this thread, Jesse ?

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=5453

Thanks, Fernando. Do you think my "orb and cross" is a Solingen mark, then? It seems similar to this group of Solingen marks:




PS...sorry for photo quality. That's the best I can do. The markings are worn and quite faint.

[M ELEY]

The history of the piece makes sense. The Barbary Corsairs were 'just across the way' from the Iberian Peninsula, with trade routes and potential captures from Spanish ships. The blade is from a broadsword (?), so we can assume the original hilt was probably that of a bilbo (more likely) or perhaps cuphilt, as in the types seen in Peterson's and Brinkerhoff's books.
Mark

[JesseS]

Originally Posted by M ELEY

The history of the piece makes sense. The Barbary Corsairs were 'just across the way' from the Iberian Peninsula, with trade routes and potential captures from Spanish ships. The blade is from a broadsword (?), so we can assume the original hilt was probably that of a bilbo (more likely) or perhaps cuphilt, as in the types seen in Peterson's and Brinkerhoff's books.
Mark

Thanks, Mark. I've been researching Decatur's actions in the First Barbary War. In late 1803 he was involved in the capture of the Tripolitan warship "Mastico" and its captain Mustapha Rais who surrendered, and I would like to imagine that this is Mustapha Rais' sword surrendered to Decatur. Decatur later sailed the captured "Mastico" (renamed "Intrepid") into Tripoli in disguise and destroyed the captured "Philadelphia" in a daring raid that made him famous.

Then in August 1804 he boarded and captured two Tripolitan gunboats in hand-to-hand combat. On one of the boats he fought with the captain, who nearly killed him, but while they wrestled, Decatur was able to reach his pistol in his pocket and cock and fire it, killing his opponent. Possible that the sword was taken in one of these encounters as well.

[M ELEY]

Hello Jesse,
You have a very interesting sword and would add that you should keep all correspondence with the original owners, any records they have proving provenance, etc. Stephen Decatur was a true American hero whose exploits at Tripoli captured the attention of the whole world (it was the start of the fall of the Barbary Corsairs and even Lord Horatio Nelson made comments on Decatur's bravery).

The thread you had a link to was a Scottish baskethilt with a Spanish-type blade. The problem with trying to identify a sword sans hilt can be very confusing. Spanish and Portuguese swords of the 17th-18th c. had the classic saying, but that motto was often inscribed on imported German-made blades for the Spanish market. Spanish swords were often diamond-shaped/six-sided, but again, Solingen often reproduced this pattern for export. Your blade seems to my inept eyes to be a true Spanish type, based on decoration/inscription, but still might be Germanic in origin. In any case, it is extremely rare to see that motto on anything other than Spanish types (bilbos, cuphilts), such as the Scottish sword in that thread. Being that yours comes from Morocco or similar port and bares the Spanish blade, I surmise that the hilt was a bilbo or cuphilt. I have in my collection a very similar bladed bilbo (the inscription barely legible and from an earlier sword), the hilt of classic 'colonial Spanish' form, with primitive braised pas d'ane, kidney-shaped guard from another sword, wood hilt with crude wire wrap, all 18th c.

As a pirate enthusiast, I can't tell you how much this sword means to fellow collectors, but provenance is everything! Keep your receipts and correspondence! The hilt found on the piece does appear to be the typical early to mid-19th c. dress style hilt.
Mark

[JesseS]

Thanks, Mark. I have a letter from one of General Swartwout's descendants documenting the sword's provenance, plus a letter written to Gen Swartwout by one of his associates from Gibraltar in 1815 mentioning the imminent arrival of Decatur's squadron in Gibraltar. I will definitely keep these safe!