Kaskara thoughts, please.

[mross]

I do have a pic of the sword in total but am having problems getting it uploaded. I may have to retake it tonight.

[Iain]

Far as I can see it is exactly what it appears to be. Good quality guard and Solingen export blade. Other buyers may have been put off by the hilt condition and lack of scabbard?

Congrats on a good deal. A solid piece in terms of the surviving components.

[Jim McDougall]

Well done MRoss!!!! This is a great example with outstanding blade and the guard! These are of course the key components and regardless of the grip condition, this acquisition is important and especially for those of us who are focused on the history of these weapons.
The poor condition of the hilt suggests that this sword has probably been static for some time, thus has avoided the clutches of crafty dealers and innovative sellers.

Iain, it has been a while since we have looked at these 'latten' (inlaid brass) markings in the Sudanese context. We had discussed the possibility that these schiavona type blades may have been produced in Solingen specifically for this North African market. Is this still a viable theory?

[Sajen]

Not my area of collecting but I think that you have well done!

Have attached some seller pictures, they are not bad so they show it well.

Regards,
Detlef

[Edster]

Mross,

I'm glad the kaskara essays were useful. I agree with both Iain and Jim. Well done. I would differ with the seller as to age. R. Cronau's book attributes all three marks to Peter Kull in 1847. Bezdek gives the cat and cross & orb to Peter Kull (1830-1870) and the fly to Samuel Kull (1847-1860).

Back in July we had a good discussion about copper filled Kull marks.
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...nlayed+kaskara

Best regards,
Ed

[mross]

Excellent! Thanks. Brass inlay makes sense it, I did not think it was copper. So it looks to be around 1847 or so?

Just followed the link above and saw my sword at the end of the discussion. Cool. One point of interest, on mine it has two flys one is under the crossguard. That would make a pretty convincing argument it was made at the time the blade was made and before the cross guard was added. So a new question; How did these sword parts come together? Was a complete sword made in Solingen or were blades shipped to Africa to be assembled from local parts there?

[Iain]

Originally Posted by mross

Excellent! Thanks. Brass inlay makes sense it, I did not think it was copper. So it looks to be around 1847 or so?

Just followed the link above and saw my sword at the end of the discussion. Cool. One point of interest, on mine it has two flys one is under the crossguard. That would make a pretty convincing argument it was made at the time the blade was made and before the cross guard was added. So a new question; How did these sword parts come together? Was a complete sword made in Solingen or were blades shipped to Africa to be assembled from local parts there?

Yes the blade is circa 1850. The guards were also exported it appears. There is a period French reference for this. The inlay is almost certainly local. So potentially the guard is European made. Very hard to say. The majority of guards seem to be locally made.

[mross]

Originally Posted by Iain

Yes the blade is circa 1850. The guards were also exported it appears. There is a period French reference for this. The inlay is almost certainly local. So potentially the guard is European made. Very hard to say. The majority of guards seem to be locally made.

Cool. So it seems safe to say this is a Kull blade?