Unusual Kaskara

[TVV]

Here is another kaskara for comments, with an 18th century European blade, brass crossguard, leather bound grip and an unusual brass pommel.

[Jim McDougall]

Fantastic example Teodor! and especially great to have something posted from this field. While its been a while since study in Sudanese topics, it seems that it was unusual to see brass crossguards on most kaskara, usually iron. However, the distinctive examples which are associated with the Calipha, after the death of the Mahdi, known with thuluth covered blades, typically had brass guards.

These are believed to have been produced at Omdurman where most of the materials and tools from the arsenal at Khartoum were taken. It is interesting that this example has similar leather wrap, but the terminals of the guard are different, as of course is the most unusual pommel cap.

It would seem this example was likely assembled either outside the general production parameters of the general kaskara production, or perhaps later than the larger production numbers. Most likely this was for a ranking figure of the Ansar as this is a high quality blade (18th c as noted) from Eastern Europe.

There were it seems a notable number of such blades coming into Sudan prior to and during the time pre-Khartoum (1885) when Rudolf von Slatin of Austria was governor general of Darfur in accord with Gordon in Khartoum.
In Slatin's memoir "Fire and Sword in the Sudan", swords with the dual head eagle symbol of Austro-Hungary on blades are mentioned.

Just my speculations, and again, superb example Teo!!!!

Best regards
Jim

[TVV]

Thank you for the quick response Jim. Do you think the blade could be Austrian? It lacks any maker marks as far as I can see, and the decoration at the base is quite generic, with nothing that suggests a clear connection to an of the European powers at the time at least to my non expert eye.

[Jim McDougall]

Im surely no expert either Teo but I just go by what I've seen in various cases. It seems that similar kinds of motif, the lattice type forte decoration etc. is something that became very popular in 18th c. Austria. These kinds of motif, along with so many other elements of military fashion of course spread across Europe, so its hard to really specify. I would just be inclined to Eastern Europe as this kind of decoration often seems paired with a lot of the religiously primed symbolism etc.

Whatever the case, this blade seems in context with the impression of such ornate type examples which seem to have been suggested in some of the narrative material I have seen from the Mahdist period.

[TVV]

Jim, I appreciate your input. Here is a takouba from Oriental Arms' sold archive, which has a similar blade and a very interesting transitional hilt which has some remnants of the Mamluk saif badawi hilts, especially in the pommel, while the cross guard and grip are consistent with early takouba types. Such blades are far less common than the later Solingen blades with triple fullers, but they were clearly exported to Africa.

[Edster]

I can't add to Jim's comment on the fantastic blade, but I have issues with dress. Nothing about the assemblage says Mahdist Period to me. The cross guard could come from any lot of bronze cross guards. The leather rap looks cracked and likely recent. Kaskara pommels are traditionally wooden discs covered in leather or silver not a mash-up as shown.

I would think any high status person who accessed the great blade would dress it with a higher class iron cross guard and silver mounted grip and pommel.

Best regards,
Ed

[TVV]

Ed, you are absolutely correct that the quality of the fittings does not match the quality of the blade. Interestingly enough, the hilt has a repair to one of the quillons, so the sword's owner at that time chose to have it soldered as opposed to replaced. I can totally see someone with poor knowledge of traditional hilts attempting a "restoration" on a damaged hilt outside of the culture. Or the owner at some point was in a hurry and decided that a crude hilt is better than no hilt at all.

The nicest hilted kaskara I have has a silver hilt with the comet motive. Ironically, it also has the least interesting blade on all of my kaskaras.

Some years ago Kubur showed a couple of interesting swords with very unusual hilts. They both had really nice old blades. It would be great if they came to us with nice silver hilts, perhaps even with the double disk pommels, but more often than not, the best blades reach us in a dress that does not meet our collector's ideal.

[Jim McDougall]

I agree with Ed, the style of dress is atypical of Mahdist period, and seems a privately construed matter using other influenced features or components used to mount an apparently heirloom blade. While the Mahdist period was of course concluded in degree at the end of the campaigns, the ideology and reverence to the Mahdi continued well through the 20th c.

It would seem quite likely that local figures of standing would keep that in mind and wish to have a sword in that light.

[David R]

A man I worked with on a dig in the 70's I knew as "Max" had been assistant district commissioner in the Sudan in the 1920's. Yes the Mahdist were still around, and the tribal culture still present.
Great bloke, and we will never see his like again!
Wish I had spent more time with him, but I was still a boy.

[Pertinax]

A very interesting sword. The blade is from Austria-Hungary, early to mid-18th century. I believe it's a unique example that arrived in the Sahel/Sudan and was later remade using local designs.