A Scottish Basket Hilted Sword dating to the early 18th century mounted with an “ANDRIA FERARA” marked blade

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Price: £5,750

Ref: 42120405

Item Description

A fine quality Scottish basket hilted sword dating to circa 1710 to 1730 in fine original condition. The fully developed hilt is well forged from finely rounded thick structural bars and pierced plates. The blade was most likely made in Solingen and is boldly struck with armourers’ marks.

The fully developed basket guard is finely forged into an elegantly contoured profile. The two main frontal guard panels are decorated in traditional style, with bold vertical and horizontal border lines filed into the exterior surfaces towards the panel edges to form squares. Inside these squares a circle is pierced into the centre enhanced with filed lines to create a saltire shape. The panels are further decorated with four pierced flanged heart shapes which surround the centre circles. Four further circles are pierced into each corner of the panels. The smaller, secondary guard plates to the sides, and the knuckle bow at the front, are finished in similar style. The edges of all the guard plates are decoratively fretted with cusps, merlons and triangles.

The cone-shaped pommel has a pronounced waisted button on top and is decorated with three sets of incised triple grooves, equally spaced apart, which radiate from the button, the middle groove being wider and more pronounced than those on its flanks in each case, similar in style to those which decorate the front panel edges and the middles of the secondary guard panels. The pommel decoration is further enhanced with three crescents filed in similar line style which bisect the radiating lines at the apex in each case. . The upper guard arm terminals of the basket fit into a chiselled groove which extends for the full circumference of the pommel just below its middle to secure the structure. The blade shoulders are secured in a chiselled groove in the cross guard bar underneath the hilt which retains its scrolled wrist guard.

The spirally grooved wooden baluster shaped grip retains its original shagreen cover. The wire binding once fitted into the groove is now lost. The hilt retains its red woolen fringe fitted beneath the pommel and its thick leather liner at the base of the grip.

The tapering blade is of lenticular section and  just over 32.5 inches (83 cm) long and of fine quality. It has a ricasso 1.5 inches long (4 cm) which has downwardly tapering fullers applied just inside each blunt edge. A shallow central fuller extends from the hilt along the blade for 7 inches (18 cm) where it tapers out. Inside the fuller on one side “ANDRIA” is incised and “FERARA” on the other. The name refers to the legendary late 16th century Italian blade maker that exported blades to Britain. The mark is often found on Scottish swords dating to the 17th and 18th centuries. It was used as a mark of quality by German blade makers. This blade was probably made in the late 17th century in Solingen.  The marks in the fullers are enhanced by further thumbnail and dot patterns. Just beyond each fuller terminal a stylised cross with the letter “S” on each side is applied.

The blade was originally made as a double edged “broadsword” blade. During its working life the back edge has been filed blunt to create a “backsword” blade. This could have been done for a number of reasons. The front edge may have received a lot of use in a particular situation and the nicks have been filed out then the blade reversed in the hilt. Also, by the mid 18th century, backsword blades were becoming more fashionable and in some instances older broadsword blades were filed back and converted to suit the trend.

For a similar hilt see Cyril Mazansky, “British Basket-Hilted Swords”, The Boydell Press, 2005, page 115, fig F15i, for a sword in a private American collection.

The overall length of the sword is 38.25 inches (97 cm). The sword is in fine structural shape and in original condition. The hilt retains a rich patination whilst the blade shows sparse mottled black age related patching in places. Underneath the hilt the bases of the merlons situated at the bottom of each side guard panel are missing their heart shaped tips. This slight damage is almost certainly due to use where heavy blows from opponents’ swords have cut into the merlons. Otherwise the hilt has no further damage or repairs and retains its original pleasing shape.