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Lin Robinson




Location: NC
Joined: 15 Jun 2006
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PostPosted: Tue 18 Jun, 2013 10:38 am    Post subject: Andrea Ferrara Marked Two Hander         Reply with quote

I have a question.

This past weekend, at a Celtic Festival, I got into a rather heated discussion with a gent from Australia who, while looking at a Hanwei basket hilt I had, proceeded to tell his family all about Andrea Ferrara and how he made the blades for most of the basket hilts found in Scotland. I tried to explain: 1. that Andrea Ferrara is more likely to be a trademark than an actual maker's mark on these swords; 2. that Ferrara apparently lived in the 16th c. and most tales about him coming to Scotland after killing an apprentice, etc. are just that, tales; 3. that most blades found on basket hilts were from Solingen, Passau, Flanders, etc. All this was to no avail but he did tell me something that I vaguely remembered hearing, i.e. that there is a basket hilt hanging in some castle in Scotland which is marked Andrea Ferrara and which is equipped with a cut down blade from a two-hander. He also told his kids that most basket hilts were equipped with cut-down two handed blades, but by that time I had moved on to something else..

Does anyone know where the sword in question might be?

Thanks in advance for any assitance you can provide.

Lin Robinson

"The best thing in life is to crush your enemies, see them driven before you and hear the lamentation of their women." Conan the Barbarian, 1982
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Lin Robinson




Location: NC
Joined: 15 Jun 2006
Likes: 6 pages
Reading list: 6 books

Posts: 1,241

PostPosted: Wed 19 Jun, 2013 5:29 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Thought I would give this a bump in case the member who knows all about this sword just missed the post. If nobody responds then I will let it die and assume, 1. that my memory about the sword is faulty and/or 2. that the gentleman did not know what he was talking about.
Lin Robinson

"The best thing in life is to crush your enemies, see them driven before you and hear the lamentation of their women." Conan the Barbarian, 1982
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Jonathan Hopkins




PostPosted: Wed 19 Jun, 2013 6:23 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Lin,
I don't know about the sword in question, but perhaps the Baron of Earlshall could be of assistance?

http://www.thescottishbaskethiltedsword.co.uk/html/contact.html

It was good of you to try to correct the man. People will believe what they want to believe regardless of reality. I was at an antiques show a few weeks ago and a dealer had a few swords. He told me all about them and not a word of it was true. I wasn't sure if he was lying or horribly, horribly misinformed. I didn't even try to correct him, although I probably should have.

Jonathan
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Richard Hare




Location: Alberta, canada
Joined: 15 Mar 2008

Posts: 135

PostPosted: Sun 16 Mar, 2014 3:03 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Lin,

I don't know which specific sword the man was referring to, but Blair Atholle castle has a very large showing of basket-hilted broadswords, and all the ones I looked at were marked Andrea Ferrara.

Yes, I believe you are correct re. Ferrara being a 16th C swordsmith, and in a little booklet called "The Scottish Armoury" (I Think!!) there is some debate on the subject, and weather all the later Ferrara blades were actually made in Solingen, as many have a running fox/ wolf mark as well.
I do believe a lot of two-handers were cut down when fashion changed, but not All the ones we see marked Ferrara!
I think it is more likely that Ferrara blades were Very good, so the name was used as a trademark by later makers (as you suggest), as a sign of quality.
Weather made in Italy or Germany, the ones I saw were wonderfully supple and would be excellent "slashers"

Richard.
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