The second half of the 19th century. 22 1/4" broad curved blade, cut down from a European cavalry sword of the early century. Shows mottled surface with black staining and scattered pitting marks. Well worked tooled leather covered hilt with the characteristic brass pommel. Leather complete and sound with a little shrinkage and light wear as expected. The Mandingo were among the most populous of tribes and having preyed on by the slave trade, with a third of the population enslaved and removed from the 16th through the 18th centuries. They comprise the largest ancestry base for African Americans.
