A Hand and a Half

[urbanspaceman]

Forgive my possibly ignorant question: is it possible this is an actual Andrea Ferarra blade?
A thing of wonder, non-the-less.

[Ed]

I doubt it. I think the mention is totemic.

[ulfberth]

Originally Posted by urbanspaceman

Forgive my possibly ignorant question: is it possible this is an actual Andrea Ferarra blade?
A thing of wonder, non-the-less.

Yes, it's a blade from the maker himself. The sword's hilt dates from the mid-16th century, as does the shape and type of the blade. The other symbols in the blade's fullers all date from around 1540-1550.

[urbanspaceman]

As I said before - but now even more so: a thing of wonder!
Thanks Dirk.

[Armadillo]

This is a beautiful sword in wonderful condition. What a piece to own. Thank you for the close-up photos of the developed guard and pommel. Could you perhaps provide some dimensions for the sword: overall length, blade length, width at Ricasso?
-A.

[Ed]

Sorry ... I have been wool gathering ...

3lb 8oz
Length o/a = 47"
Blade=38.25"
Cross guard= 10"
Grip = 6"

I noted that the Christie's description description describes it as "composite". I see not evidence of that.

Thoughts?

[Lee]

I well remember my anticipation of the glossy sales catalogues from the major London auctions back when I was active...

The cataloging was pretty stringent back then...

[Ed]

Thats it. I wonder what the issue was?