Short Sword For Identification

ariel · 24th December 2020, 12:25 AM

Scabbard decor is purely NW Africa. Brass points to the same areal.
Had it been bronze, Dahomey ( Benin) might have been considered: Benin bronze was and is famous.

But how do we distinguish bronze from brass? It is quite easy if we are dealing with Western manufacture: the compositions would be very different. But go and find any control of zinc and tin content and percentage in African village!That is why we find more and more “ copper alloys” of uncertain origin. They are metallurgical mutts: widely encountered, quite similar in appearance, pleasant to deal with, versatile ( clever in dog’s case), durable ( healthy). Go figure....

In this case I join with the NW African crowd.

24th December 2020, 12:25 AM	#7
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	Scabbard decor is purely NW Africa. Brass points to the same areal. Had it been bronze, Dahomey ( Benin) might have been considered: Benin bronze was and is famous. But how do we distinguish bronze from brass? It is quite easy if we are dealing with Western manufacture: the compositions would be very different. But go and find any control of zinc and tin content and percentage in African village!That is why we find more and more “ copper alloys” of uncertain origin. They are metallurgical mutts: widely encountered, quite similar in appearance, pleasant to deal with, versatile ( clever in dog’s case), durable ( healthy). Go figure.... In this case I join with the NW African crowd.