Here’s a few random examples after a quick search
‘‘ A phenomenally enameled silver Swept-hilt Rapier, Germany, ca. 1606, housed at the Staaliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden. ‘‘
Found here.
Dated: 20th century
Culture: Javanese
Measurements: overall length 47.5 cm
The dagger has an almost straight, double-edged blade with a curved tip, the first part being finely pierced, gold-plated and engraved with the effigy of a elephant, a dragon and deity. The ivory grip is chiselled with floral motifs and a fine gilt-silver mendak enriched with carved stones. The wrangka and gandar are made of wood.““
Found here.
Dated: 1817-61
Culture: British; Russian
Measurements: overall length 109 cm; blade length 92 cm
Medium and Techniques: steel, gilt, brass, copper-zinc alloys, wood, leather, skin, copper, silver, wire/cast, chiselled, engraved (incised), etched, matted
Provenance: given to Captain Seymour by the Prince Regent, April 25th 1818
The sword has a gilt-brass hilt with stirrup guard with a Royal monogrammed crown over “GR”. The wooden grip is covered with brown leather bound with copper and silver wire, engraved line decoration. The backedged steel blade is etched in relief and gilt on matted ground Trophy of Russian arms.“
Found here.
Dated: late 19th century
Provenance: Eritrea - a gift to the tribal chiefs of the A. O. I.
Measurements: overall length 105 cmThe sword feature a wide, single-and false-edged blade with wide fuller, engraved and gilt on blue ground with Umberto I, Savoy coat of arms and floral motifs at the first part. The Oriental, white, metallic hilt has horn grip scales, while the wooden scabbard is covered in leather and engraved.‘‘
Found here.
‘‘Cavalry Sword
Dated: 1732-97
Culture: Prussian
Medium and techniques: gilt brass, steel, wood, copper wire, gold/struck, etched
Measurements: overall length 102.5 cm
This sword of the Officer of the Prussian Curassiers and Garde du Corps features a gilt-brass hilt with rounded quillon-ends. The wooden grip is covered in brown leather and bound with copper wire. The one-edged blade has two fullers, struck on outer face with an eagle mark.““
Found here.
Dated: 20th century
Culture: Indonesian
Measurements: overall length 36 cm
The dagger has a straight, wide, double-edged blade made of pamor, decorated with a gold dragon. The wooden grip is sculpted in the shape of a deity. The wooden scabbard partially sculpted with floral motifs.‘‘
Found here.
Dated: 19th century
Culture: Nepalese or Northern Indian
Measurements: overall length 27 ½ inches (69.85cm); blade length 21 inches (53.34cm); width 8 inches (20.32cm)
These unusual weapons were used both in battle and for animal sacrifice ceremonies. The finely forged blade is sharp on the concave side and comes to a thick and massive tip. The double hollow ground blade has a very thick back edge and the “eye” is only on one side of the blade. The handle is made of steel.‘‘
Found here.
Dated: circa 1650
Culture: probably Dutch
Medium: Iron and steel; modern grip of wood and copper
Measurements: overall length 36 inches (91.5 cm)
Provenance: Ex coll. Counts Erbach-Erbach, Schloss Erbach, Odenwald, near Darmstadt‘‘
Found here.
“Parade sword crafted by Nicolas Noel Boutet of the Versailles Armory from French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, 1809.from The Hermitage Museum“
Found here.
“A Gilt Brass-Hilted European Officer’s Sword, 18th CenturyHilt probably French, early 18th century, blade Italian, 16th century [I doubt it]. Straight 36 inch blade of stiff hexagonal section with 8 inch fuller marked on both sides Frederico Pichinino; side flats etched with scrollwork and panoplies on a gilt ground; heavy ricasso etched with strapwork. Gilt brass baskethilt comprising quillon block flaring to the ricasso, the sides with fleur-de-lys finials; thumb ring; straight quillons swelling at the tips; elaborate basket form of gracefully scrolling branches, the front branches apparently forming the letter M; knucklebow attached to the ovoid pommel with a screw. Grip bound with robust, plaited gilt brass wire. “
Found here.
“ A remarkable Pata, India, Tamil Nadu, Thanjavur, hilt ca. 17th-18th century, blade ca. 18th century, housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. “
Found here.
And yes it’s a sword, check out more about patas here.
“ A flamberged Rapier, Italy, ca. 1600, from Hermann Historica. “
Found here.
“ An incredibly ornate Kilij with a highly gilt an calligraphed blade and a dyed green shagreen grip, Ottoman, ca. mid 16th century, housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. “
Found here.
No selection of ‘extra’ weapons can possibly be complete without at least one example of swords mixed with firearms.
“ An interesting naval type Basket-Hilted Broadsword with a guard of blued steel combined with a wheellock. The sword dates to 1785, and the lock to 1640, while the barrel dates probably to the 19th century, indicating that this weapon is a composite thrown together in the Victorian era. Dutch, housed at the Wallace Collection. “
Found here.
“ A flamberged Zweihander, German, ca. 1580, from Hermann Historica. “
Found here.
“ Beautiful Chinese sword “Han jian” from Damascus steel “
Found here.
“British Pattern 1874 Royal Horse Guards Officer’s Sword for the 1st Life Guards1874 Royal Horse Guard / Life Guard Officers Sword dates from the late 19th Century. It is mounted with a straight blade that measures 34 inches in length. The blade has not been abused, however due to bad storage; it has developed some surface pitting scars on both sides near the point. The blade does continue to wears its beautiful etching on either side. The steel guard is wonderfully enhanced with a brass regimental motif with the original crimson leather backed liner still present. The hilt is fish skin covered with its twisted wire wrap still in place and the guard is beautifully accentuated with the original portepee. The metal scabbard has survived nicely with only a couple of dings and one small rusted spot near the drag. Overall measuring 42 inches in length. “
Found here.
“ Henry Wilkinson Pall Mall London Officers Naval Sword Provenance Sir Julian Tolver Paget 4th Barone,1921 to 2016 England. “
Found here.
“ A fantastically gilt Khanda, India, Rajasthan, ca. 1800-1830, housed at the Royal Armouries in Leeds. “
Found here.
“ A lovely gilt Jian, with a pattern-welded blade likely used as a later replacement, China, Ming Dynasty, ca. early 15th century, housed at the Royal Armouries in Leeds. “
Found here.
“… A Rapier with its grip, guard, pommel, and the tips of its crossguard made of blue turquoise, with the rest of the guard being made of gilt steel … . German, ca. 1590-1600, housed at the Kunsthistorisches Museum. “
Found here.
“ A classic, lantern shield with gauntlet for the left hand and several blades, some of which are retractable. The ultimate multi-purpose tool. German, ca. early 17th century, housed at the Kunsthistorisches Museum Imperial Armoury. “
Technically a shield but still obviously with a sword blade included.
Found here.
“ A Karabala style Shamshir decorated with silver, gold, Jade, and turquoise, Ottoman, Turkey, ca. 17th century, housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. “
Found here.
“ A very interesting and odd Shamshir with dark Jade grip and silver inlaid floral designs, India, ca.1725-1750, from Czerny’s International Auction House. “
Found here.
“ A Khanda, India, ca. 1800, from Czerny’s International Auction House. “
Found here.
“ A flamberged Zweihander, attributed to Christoph I Stantler, German, ca. 1600, housed at the Wallace Collection. “
Found here.
“ A ridiculously wide “Sword Breaker” Parrying Dagger, Italy, ca. 1620, housed at the Wallace Collection. “
Found here.
“ A lovely gilt Khanda with a Damascus blade, North India, ca. early 19th century, from Czerny’s International Auction House. “
Found here.
Dated: circa 1676 - 1725
Culture: Indian/Afghan
Medium: steel, gold
Measurements: overall length 97 cm; blade length 83 cm
The Pulouar is an Afghan sword, also used in India, a variant of the Tulwar. It always displays a short guard, curved in the direction of the blade, and a hemispheric pommel without a counter guard. This piece displays a blade in watered steel, curved and with a slight wave in its double edge.Near the hilt a golden cartouche is desplayed with the following inscription: “Akbar Sha al-Sultan Mirza”. The hilt, also in steel, displays a spherical pommel completely covered in an engraved web motif and geometrical patterns. The hand guard features a delicate swan head on the pommel, also engraved, an inscription with the “Ali”, followed by the sentence “nasr min Allah wa il-fath qrabi.”“
Found here.
“Tibetan Sword
Dated 19th century
Measurements: overall length 88.5 cm
The sword features the typical straight, single-edged blade. The iron hilt has silver and brass decorations and a cabochon coral at the pommel. The wooden grip features silver wire binding, while the wooden scabbard is covered in green leather with silver mounts richly engraved with effigies of vine shoots on granulated ground, plus cabochon corals on the two bands.“
Found here.
“Presentation Sabre with Scabbard
Dated: 1846Place of Origin: AustriaMedium: steel, wood, turquoises, silver and gold, embossed, engraved and etchedMeasurements: overall length 93.5 cm; weight 0.76 kg, without scabbardHallmark: Vienna’s mark and the year of 1846This exotic silver-mounted sabre belonged to Anatole Demidoff, Prince of San Donato in Florence. It is depicted in an (unfinished) equestrian portrait of him by Karl Briullov (1799-1852), begun in 1828, and now in the Palazzo Pitti, Florence. Although seemingly entirely made of silver in Bruillov’s portrait, it appears to have been at least partly-gilded; traces of the precious metal still in fact remain, but most has vanished, perhaps due to over-cleaning during its “working” lifetime.Despite its singularly Ottoman style, the hilt of the sword bears an (unidentified) Austrian silversmith’s mark and all the mounts are struck with the standard Austrian mark for silver, indicating that it is almost certainly of Austrian manufacture. Swords in “Eastern” style were particularly fashionable throughout Europe at this time, being especially sought-after by dashing young cavalry officers and noblemen.“
Found here.
“ Indian tulwar with a beautiful blade. The chevron pattern is forged in damascus and high-carbon steel. The hilt is decorated in koftgari. “
Found here.
“British Pattern 1828 Highland Officer’s Sword82 cm blade by Robert Mole & Son, Birmingham, Makers to the War & India Offices etched with scrolling foliage, thistles and crowned VR cypher, regulation steel basket hilt, wire bound fish skin covered grip, in its steel scabbard with two suspension rings, complete with its crimson faced buff leather liner and fringe tassel. “
Found here.
“Belgian Court Sword, 19th CenturyA 19th century Belgian court/smallsword, featuring the Belgian royal coat of arms and having a functional blade and mother of pearl grips. This model of sword is based on French examples and dates to after 1837, when the Belgian coat of arms and motto ‘l'Union Fait La Force’, as featured on the guard, was officially adopted. The hilt has been configured for a left-handed person, interestingly and unusually. The blade is a simple but totally effective hollow-ground triangular smallsword blade, which is solid in the hilt. The ornate gilded guard is in nice condition overal, though there is a little crack in the knucklebow. Mother of pearl grip. “
Found here.
“British Pattern 1831 General Officer’s Sword Belonging to General Sir Dighton ProbynThe General Officer’s pattern mameluke style presentation sword, was given to General Sir Dighton Probyn in 1876 following his accompanying of the prince on a tour of India.One side of the sword is marked “from H.R.H. the Prince of Wales, K.G., G.C.S.I. India 1875-76” and on the other side is “To Major General Sir Dighton Probyn, KC.S.I., C.B., V.C.”.The hilt is of heavy quality cast brass with applied silver devices of the Prince of Wales crest on the front langet and his initials AE on the other. It also contains ivory.The sword is in excellent general condition: there is some light pitting to the scabbard and three small fixing screws are missing from the scabbard mounts.“
Found here.
“ 15th Century Sword and scabbard of Boabdil (Muhammad XII), Nasrid Granada, c. 1400 Steel, gold, enamel, metal wire, ivory, leather, wood Museo del Ejército, Toledo This finely worked enameled sword is a trophy of war, captured in battle against the forces of Muhammad XII, the last Nasrid ruler of Granada. He was known as Boabdil (a corruption of Abu Abdullah, his given name) by the Spanish.”
Found here.
“ Sword (Rudus) and Scabbard. Dated: 1835. Inlayer: Muhammad Salih of Terumon (Malaysian, active Kampung Payang, circa 1835). Geography: Kuala Berang. Culture: Malaysian, Kampung Payang, and Sumatra, Aceh. Medium: steel, wood, horn, gold. | Copyright © 2015 The Metropolitan Museum of Art “
Found here.
“ Couteau Glaive et son etui - Bamileke - Cameroun - Objet n°2561 - Galerie Bruno Mignot “
Found here.
“ Indonesian Sabre Dated: 19th century Culture: Indonesian Medium: steel, wood Measurements: overall length 87 cm “
Found here.
As for the aformentioned african swords could it be any of these?
“ from left to right: Mongelima mambele, Egyptian Khopesh, Azande sabre, Tebu sword, Somali belawa, Maasai seme, Ngbandi sword, Manding broadsword, Ngbandi sabre, Ngombe execution sword, Somali belawa, Manding sabre, Songye sword, Salampasu sword, Fang fa, Boa sword “
Found here.
“ Ngulu ceremonial sword, Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire), central Africa “
Found here.
“ FOUR KONDA KNIVES Democratic Republic of the Congo - Kunsthaus Lempertz “
Found here.
” African sword ”
Found here.
No description given,however found here.
“ Gbaya Sword “
Found here.
“ Executioner’s Sword - Ngombe and Doko - D.R. Congo (LS57) “
Found here.
No description given, found here.
No description, found via google images.
” Beheading sword of iron with crescentic point and handle of wood bound with iron ”
Found here.
Also suggestion to check out HAMAA: Historical African Martial Arts Association for learning to use the African weapons.
Similarly these for the persian, chinese, indian and european weapons respectively, if anyone knows of folks who know how to use the weapons left out do say so.
Btw the working definition of ‘extra’ that was used here was basically ‘over the top in either form or decorations or both’, not that the actual weapons are bad, useless or suchlike inherently. Many of these would be perfectly good if not great weapons aside from their extraness.
There was a bit of cheating in the sense that for a few of these the really ‘extra’ part is the scabbard not the sword itself.
I also generally suggest going through tumblrs like Arm the Armour or Victorian Swords or art-of-swords for more examples.
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