VOC hanger advice

[Peter Andeweg]

Agreed with all mentioned above, a nice blade but too deeply corroded to have it polished, the same for the guard. I think that some handy fellow had made this new hilt, but it sure does not add any value nor aesthetic pleasure.
The shell guard cutlasses or hangers are very scarce, I often encounter VOC marked blades with tribal or European military hilts, but rarely with the clam shell guard.

A good find!

[Kmaddock]

Hi
Lovely item in condition I prefer my items to be
Can you post a picture of the peening so we can see if handle replaced recently
Regards
Ken

[cel7]

Originally Posted by Kmaddock

Hi
Lovely item in condition I prefer my items to be
Can you post a picture of the peening so we can see if handle replaced recently
Regards
Ken

I don't think it happened recently but it won't be very old either. The man I bought it from clearly had no idea. He'd had it in the attic for years. It had belonged to his father-in-law, who collected sharp weapons at the time. He may have mounted it on it at some point. At the top of the pommel you can see that it has been welded.

[asomotif]

Interesting sword.

I would leave the metal as it is. Crystalline wax sounds good.

The hilt. It would be nice if someone could reshape it into a thinner spiral hilt without removing it. A smart carver should be able to do this.

I am very surprised about the crisp markings on the "left" side.
But as left and right are the same stamps and on the right side they show erosion that is more consistent, I find it hard to draw a conclusion.

Best regards,
Willem

[midelburgo]

What I have seen of these VOC swords, blades are not unusual but they have been often rehilted into any kind of Asian swords (maybe they reached Asia as spare blades anyway).
Original hilts and pommels are much rarer.

[kai]

Being overwhelmingly utilized in colonial settings and the VOC disbanded over 200 years ago, it stands to reason that many survivors crop up locally as recycled blades.

In addition, there are also a lot of spurious "VOC" marks on indigenous blades to be found. And downright later fakes in the European setting.

Regards,
Kai

[Ian]

I think Rick and kai have each (gently) raised the issue of whether the VOC and A stamps on this blade may have been added at a later time. The 1790 date stamp would indicate that it was made late in the existence of the VOC, a mere 10 years before it was dismantled and replaced by the Dutch government.

Looking at other examples posted in this forum of VOC blades made in Amsterdam, I would add that the stamped majuscule "A "found on this blade is of a form not shown on other VOC Amsterdam blades of a similar period. On the example shown here, the A has a straight cross piece, whereas on the examples shown in the link to other Amsterdam swords the A has a two-part cross piece that is angled ("v"). (This letter has a specific name that I don't recall but was in use throughout the period of the VOC as best I know.) This feature was mentioned here by Jim.

I agree with kai's sentiment that the date, VOC, and A stamps could have been added after manufacture, albeit many years ago.