ETHIOPIAN, ANYONE?

roanoa · 9th October 2006, 05:04 AM

Bill, I myself am into Ethiopian "stuff" big time. Have a colelction of crosses, jewels, paintings. The works. Of course, my prime interest is swords and shields... The straight bladed sword in question is a fairly common pattern (in my lingo it means I have seen more than a dozen). Of course they are identical as they were manufactured in quantity. Here is mine. Grip is, as you can PLAINLY see, COW... Not rhino (sob sob), just cow. I have another one in poor shape (cow again...). C'est la vie. The cow vs. rhino debate will rage on long after we are gone. Hurts me to envision that shotel with ivory grip. I have seen only one in Rome. And a gurade that was offered to me about 10 years ago from an Italian dealer. Too much money at the time. Reasonable to-day...

derek · 9th October 2006, 05:43 AM

These are excellent!

Here's another straight blade that managed to get a rehilt in Yemen.

derek · 9th October 2006, 05:45 AM

This is from a rehilted straight blade as well. Although the blade has lost its temper and bends easily, it is rare in that it has Haille Selassie, The empress, and Menelik II on it.

roanoa · 9th October 2006, 05:08 PM

Hi Derek. Great to hear from you. The first sword, though virtually identical, differs from the others as: 1) it has the crown; 2) it has an inscription; and 3) has the patented mark of S. TERZIAN's Lion of Judah.
The second one is quite nice. The faces are, as you said, those of Menelik, Empress Taitu, and ???? I really don't know. I think Haile' Selassie was too young at the time. But it is a good guess. MAYBE it's his father, Ras Tafari of Harar. Great sword, regardless. Here's mine.

Tim Simmons · 9th October 2006, 05:42 PM

Another Solomon and Sheba painting to go with Bills, this is behind glass and the flash is on.

I do believe there has been a considerable clamp down on the export of these late 19th early 20th century paintings.

Lew · 11th October 2006, 02:46 PM

Bill

As per your request.

Lew

roanoa · 11th October 2006, 03:06 PM

Nice Gile'. Yes, it's an AFAR/ISSA knife from the Danakil area. Judging from the style of the grip and the grooves on the blade, I would say it comes from an area close to or overlapping with Ethiopian border. Just a guess. The central portion of the grip looks like..... RHINO. Would have to take a very close look.

9th October 2006, 05:04 AM	#1
roanoa Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 241	Bill, I myself am into Ethiopian "stuff" big time. Have a colelction of crosses, jewels, paintings. The works. Of course, my prime interest is swords and shields... The straight bladed sword in question is a fairly common pattern (in my lingo it means I have seen more than a dozen). Of course they are identical as they were manufactured in quantity. Here is mine. Grip is, as you can PLAINLY see, COW... Not rhino (sob sob), just cow. I have another one in poor shape (cow again...). C'est la vie. The cow vs. rhino debate will rage on long after we are gone. Hurts me to envision that shotel with ivory grip. I have seen only one in Rome. And a gurade that was offered to me about 10 years ago from an Italian dealer. Too much money at the time. Reasonable to-day... Attached Images

9th October 2006, 05:08 PM	#4
roanoa Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 241	Hi Derek. Great to hear from you. The first sword, though virtually identical, differs from the others as: 1) it has the crown; 2) it has an inscription; and 3) has the patented mark of S. TERZIAN's Lion of Judah. The second one is quite nice. The faces are, as you said, those of Menelik, Empress Taitu, and ???? I really don't know. I think Haile' Selassie was too young at the time. But it is a good guess. MAYBE it's his father, Ras Tafari of Harar. Great sword, regardless. Here's mine. Attached Images Last edited by roanoa; 9th October 2006 at 09:57 PM.

11th October 2006, 02:46 PM	#6
Lew (deceased) Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: East Coast USA Posts: 3,191	Bill As per your request. Lew Attached Images Last edited by LOUIEBLADES; 11th October 2006 at 04:27 PM.

9th October 2006, 05:43 AM	#2
derek Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 215	These are excellent! Here's another straight blade that managed to get a rehilt in Yemen.

9th October 2006, 05:45 AM	#3
derek Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 215	This is from a rehilted straight blade as well. Although the blade has lost its temper and bends easily, it is rare in that it has Haille Selassie, The empress, and Menelik II on it.

9th October 2006, 05:42 PM	#5
Tim Simmons Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: What is still UK Posts: 5,855	Another Solomon and Sheba painting to go with Bills, this is behind glass and the flash is on. I do believe there has been a considerable clamp down on the export of these late 19th early 20th century paintings.

11th October 2006, 03:06 PM	#7
roanoa Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 241	Nice Gile'. Yes, it's an AFAR/ISSA knife from the Danakil area. Judging from the style of the grip and the grooves on the blade, I would say it comes from an area close to or overlapping with Ethiopian border. Just a guess. The central portion of the grip looks like..... RHINO. Would have to take a very close look.