Inauthentic Short Sword
In the style of the Eastern Songye / Kusu, D.R. Congo
Iron, wood, copper
To anyone who has seen a number of the fantastic short swords of the Eastern Songye and Kusu, this piece is quite clearly inauthentic. I was eager to acquire it, however, because it comes from the workshop of a blacksmith with whom I am not familiar. I haven't previously seen the elaborate copper inlays on the iron blade, which seem to have required a high degree of proficiency to achieve. There is also delamination in a few areas of the iron, which typically isn't present on modern replicas, and was perhaps artificially induced here.
This piece was acquired from Peter Hasenkopf in Germany. While Hasenkopf is known to have blacksmithing skills, it is unclear if the piece was comissioned by him, made by him, or simply sold by him. Before his death, Tilman Hebeisen viewed the piece and confirmed that he was not the manufacturer.
The details that identify this short sword as inauthentic are numerous. First, like many European-made replicas, it weighs too much for its type, in this case, far too much: 1460g.
There are elements above the blade that are wrong: the iron cone is too heavy and shows little age, the wood elements visible between the copper studs show no oxidation, and the copper tape shows no age. The underside of the copper crossguard shows clear signs of machining, and is as shiny as a brand new copper penny.
The blade, while incoprating some traidional designs, is entirely incorrect. First, it is far too broad and much too heavy. The weight of the blade is certainly related to the thickness needed to insert the elaborate copper inlays in three different segments on both sides.
All three sections of the copper inlay seem to be inspired by tradional designs. The upper section with a U-shaped enclosure with circles inside can certainly be found on other Sonye / Kusu short swords, however, never with copper inlay, always with copper overlay. Interestingly, the circles here seem to be punched with the same tool used on the copper handle wrap.
The figure-8 design is present on many swords of this type, but typically incorporates some open work, and is again always in copper overlay, not inlay.
The bottom section of inlay could be inspired by the openwork seen on some Sonye / Kusu short swords, which is typically executed in a copper insert or in the iron itself. However, it is never spaced in this way on traditional examples. This section is where the blacksmith took the most artistic license to put his or her own spin on the traditional design.
20.25 in :: 51.5 cm
InventoryID #13-1795
Not For Sale
