Scimitar With Leather Work Scabbard
date: label: Accession Date
content: 10 Sep 1874
name: label: Donor Name
content: Rev. Ralph R. Gurley
notes: label: Notes
content: From card: "15074A,B. Leather sheath of nearly uniform width, slightly curved at point end; red leather embossed with geometric designs and decorated with lighter strips of leather. A shoulder strap consisting of 7 strands covered with woven leather is attached. Handle has an iron loop at top. Blade slightly curved, grooved near back on both sides. Mandingo identification by reference to Buttikofer, J. Reisebilder aus Liberia (Leiden, 1890), vol. 2, Tafel XXVI, fig. 4, which pictures a very similar weapon. A leather loop with ornament attached is passed through the iron loop at the end of the sword handle in the picture. The leather scabbard and sword grip were cleaned by brushing and treated with a leather preservative (beeswax-lanolin-cedar oil); the blade was cleaned of rust by soaking overnight in a 10% solution of oxalic acid, then rinsed with water, quickly dried, and chemically cleaned and dried with acetone, then coated with hot beeswax. This treatment done prior to placing on exhibit, July 12, 1963. The shoulder strap was firmly fastened to the scabbard by sewing with nylon fish leader. Some decorative elements have been lost and no attempt was made to replace them- namely, the red cloth circle under one leather button, and the plaited leather collar around one end of the rope attaching the shoulder strap to the scabbard. Restoration and preservation – 7/28/63”
label: Record Last Modified
content: 21 Apr 2020
label: Specimen Count
content: 2
place: label: Place
content: Africa
topic: label: Topic
content: Ethnology
culture: label: Culture
content: Mandingo
setName: label: See more items in
content: Anthropology
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: 74A00050
label: USNM Number
content: E15074-0
objectType: label: Object Type
content: Sword / Sheath