Cuphilt Sword with Damascus blade?

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by Victrix

Could it be a Portuguese colonial cuphilt with Indian pattern welded blade used in Goa?

Actually that is a wonderfully placed suggestion, and this arming sword is indeed in line with 18th century Portuguese and Spanish cup hilt arming swords.
The pattern welding though, I think remained known in Germany, ironically where its process nominally was begun with Viking swords many centuries before. The process was clearly not regularly carried on but it seems that there was experimentation trying too reproduce the wootz blades of India and the Middle East in the 18th c.

I am not sure with the wootz predomination in India that pattern welding would have been done, but again, the Goa suggestion is interesting.

The pommel does seem more European, and the plain unturned quillons are notable.

[AHorsa]

Thanks for your replies Gentlemen!

I was also thinking about a link to Indian Wootz steel and the Portugese engagement there. But the style of the blade must have been pretty european, taking also in account the remains of the inscriptions in the fuller (e.g. one can see an "O" very week). The blade als is amazingly flexible.