Kaskara (sword)

Date1800s

Mediumsteel, iron, wood, crocodile skin, and leather

Dimensions4.5 × 88.5 × 15.5 cm (1 3/4 × 34 13/16 × 6 1/8 in.), 1 lb, 14 oz (weight)

ClassificationsArms and Armor

MarkingsOne face of the blade is stamped with six crescentic moon faces, in imitation of the marks found on some German sword blades. There is a triangular group of three to one side of the fuller, near the hilt, and two vertically addorsed below this at mid-length of the fuller, with an isolated crescent facing the tip, opposite the group.

Credit LineThe John Woodman Higgins Armory Collection

Terms

Object number2014.67.1

DescriptionDouble-edged blade of very flat hexagonal section, with a crudely formed, deep narrow fuller, extending from under the hilt to just beyond mid-length. The blade tapers only slightly to a spatulate tip. The blade is of iron, and is probably locally made. The hilt has straight, short iron crossguards of lozenge-section, expanding to the tips which are flattened at the ends. At the thickened center of the cross on both faces is a long langet which extends down over the blade. It is of triangular section, and expands like the guards. The intersection of the cross/langets is decorated with a low raised moulding of "X" shape, suggesting a cord wrap. The blade is insulated from the guard with wooden spacers on both faces, and the grip itself is apparently of wood. It is of circular section, wrapped with skin from the underbelly of a crocodile, and is sewn closed along one side with an over/under stitching of a fibrous material. The pommel is a flattened, thick disc of wood covered in leather, bevelled on its upper face, and formed with a central hole that fits over the top of the grip core.
Label TextThis sword resembles the cross-hilted weapon of a medieval European knight. Nonetheless it was produced in Africa, although the blade bears crescent-shaped markings that imitate imported German blades. The form of this sword actually derives from types used by Arab armies in the early years of Islam, before the use of curved swords was imported from central Asia.ProvenancePurchased by the Museum at the Macomber Sale, American Art Association, Anderson Galleries, NY on December 10-12, 1936, lot 329. (nos. 2390-2446 inc.) Collection transfer from Higgins Armory, January 2014.

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