Kaskara, African sword, 19th century, provenanced example
A very nice Sudanese Kaskara of good form, good provenance and unusual markings.
Overall this sword is 101cms in the scabbard, 99cms out with an 86cms single fullered double edged blade. The hilt shows tooling to the ends of the leather grip and a thumb ringremains intact. The cross guard is of forged iron construction and a reverse ‘Z’ to one end. The blade, most likely European in origins has a nice old original dark patina and exhibits to the forte numerous unidentified lines and sun like markings with the line work differing on each side. The blade has very good flex and spring but is slightly loose within the hilt. The scabbard is expertly tooled and stitched with raised discs holding the differing suspension rings with the upper suspension ring being tooled brass and the lower being iron. There is an old collection tag attached to the rear just below the upper suspension loop, largely illegible now due to staining but what can be read is “Dervish sword taken from prisoner at Suakin … … ….HMS Melita 1898 JGB” A very nice well presented sword in outstanding condition and with good history worthy of further research.
Darfur Kaskara Stunning African sword Very fine condition
This fine example is from the south east regions of the Sudan being the city of Kassala. Overall in the scabbard it measures 109cms long. Out of the scabbard it is 105cms long with a blade length of 91cms. The entire sword remains in outstanding condition and carries a very fine warm patina to most surfaces. The hilt is dressed with a decorative silver collar 4cms long and a very well detailed pommel 4.5cms across that is finished with a raised faceted and decorated lobe. The hilt surfaces show a very nice patina with wear to the leather grip. The cruciform guard is a little over 15cms across with the langet being just under 3cms. The blade is extremely fine quality. It has triple fullers running most of the length, is stamped with double moons (dukari) and carries good sharp cutting edges. The blade and guard are free from rust or pitting. The scabbard is very well made. It has a decorative silver locket and chape, tooled leather surfaces, platted leather embellishments and a complete tooled leather baldric with iron rings. The decorative chape is a very fine example of silversmithing as seen in the images.
An outstanding example of a Darfur type Sudanese Kaskara circa 1900.
