Posts: 864 Location: Michigan, USA
Mon 02 Feb, 2009 10:13 pm
Recently, and behind the scenes privately, some experienced gentlemen
raised observations regarding The Black Saber's proportions and scale.
They did so in a very positive way, recognizing the craftsmanship and
skill it took to create such a unique sword, as well as my own passion
to see such a sword made. My respect to you gents for taking a dare
hoping I wouldn't go off the deep-end on you. B-)
After a bit of discourse I decided to ply Paolo with questions based on
their observations and here's what Paolo had to write ( posted here with
his permission ) ...
Quote: |
Lemme write out a couple of thoughts and see if I can hit more birds
with fewer stones.
While historicaly-inspired, the "Black Saber" is far from a strict
repro. I think it's best appreciated as an allegorical ode to the
history and mythology of the Husaria, the invincible Polish cavalry.
These were tough, strong men who made the very earth beneath them
tremble when they charged towards the enemy. So in my imagination,
heros of such mythic proportions needed to be represented by a sword
of equal "measure", so to speak.
In my understanding of Polish history, the 16th century was a time of
great "orientalization" for Poland. The well-loved ruler Stephan
Bathory, a transylvanian prince, popularized his native
Hungarian-style of saber which then was heavily influenced by the
Ottoman turkish designs which were in great fashion among the knightly
"szlachta". In my mind, this mixing and melding of eastern and
european designs are what would have spawned the black saber. So yes,
there certainly is a very overt reference to turkish kilij, because
that influence was very much in fashion at the time we pegged the
black saber (16th-17th C). The blade itself is loosely modeled on a
kilij-style blade listed in Zablocki's book on Polish war sabers and
another kilij-style blade you had posted before (i'll attach the
pics). Zablocki's book lists so many other Polish saber styles and the
other measurements of this sword are again loosely based on those
found in the book.
Based on our discussions I envisioned this saber to be a brute-force
weapon far removed from the finesse of the more lithe 18th century
style of polish saber. Something that remained strapped to a hussars
saddle much like his "palash" of kilometric length. A "wartime
special" rather than an everyday carry, plain brutish, soldier stuff
rather than courtly baubles. This is how I interpretted the black
saber and I hope it conjures the same heroic imagery for other people
too.
But I think it's important to understand the black saber as an
allegory done in high-style. It's not just curved it's VERY curved. It
doesnt sport a slight mlotek, it has a LARGE yelman. It's a large
-scale weapon made to give one an impression of the strong men (with
big hands ;-) ) who would have weilded it. Kind of like trying to fit
into your father's shoes when you were nine ;-) Liken it to japanese
odachi, a shock and awe weapon of equally substantial, almost
theatric, proportions. It's a 357 magnum rather than a 9 mm glock.
Since decorativism is almost non-existent on purpose, it's very over
the top in terms of scale and proportion rather than embelishment. ;-)
Hope that answers some of the questions. I enjoyed discussing it in
these terms. ;-)
Best,
Paolo
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Here is one of Paolo's researched pictures that I hadn't seen before. It makes
me recall an email discussion we had regarding what type of hilt / grip would
suit the blade he had made.