SOLD Antique 17th Century Polish Sword Saber Karabela

Rare antique, 17th century (circa 1650 A.D.) Polish sword -saber Karabela with a hilt of characteristic Karabela form, which comprised of two carved horn grip scales, secured to the tang of the blade by three rivets with domed silver rosettes heads, and enclosed iron straps with traces of silver plating mounted with iron crossguard with langets and bud-shaped terminals with traces of silver plating.
Massive, very well hand-forged with visible lamination layers, curved single-edged, sturdy, and very sharp steel blade, with a shallow fuller and pronounced false edge – yelmen.
The blade is deeply stamped on each face of the forte near the spine of the blade with series of sickles or eyelashes marks. One site is engraved with the jester bust with the crescent moon above the other face is engraved with foliage. According to the Polish references most of the blades, fund in Polish swords, stamped with this marking, were made during the 17th century for the Polish market by the Genoese and Styrian swordsmiths.
Polish Karabela swords were in two version: costume parade karabela, and combat karabela, this one is a typical combat karabela sword.

FEFERENCES:
1.Pięć wieków szabli polskiej. Front Cover. Włodzimierz Kwaśniewicz.
2. An 17th century Karabela sword with similar sickles or eyelashes marks stamped on the blade is published in the Croatian book:
MAČEVI, BODEŽI I ORUŽJA NA MOTKI u Istri, Hrvatskoj i Slavoniji od IX. do kraja XVIII. st. (Catalog of an exhibition held at the History Museum in Pula, Croatia, June - August 2005) by Mario Kovac. Page. 91. No.120.
Please see the last photo in the listing.
We will also provide the buyer with photocopies of the pages from the mentioned references together with a certificate of authenticity.
PROVENANCE:
We have acquired this sword together with other Polish antiques, including also, antique Polish arms and armour from an old Canadian collection.
To see other rare objects from this collection, please view our store contents.
CONDITION: showing age and usage, silver plating on the iron straps and the cross guard mostly worn, one of the horn scales near the crossguard with old age crack, combat nicks on the edge of the blade, aver in good condition, for the over 350 years old combat sword.
MEASUREMENTS:
Overall length: 79 cm (31.1 inches).
Width of the blade at the widest point: 3.2 cm (1.26 inches).
Thickness of the blade spine: 6 mm
Antique 17th-18th century Polish arms and armour were always considered as the scarcest antique military objects, rarely appearing for sale, and they are almost impossible to acquire.
Unfortunately, with a big demand on authentic, 17th-18th century, Polish arms and armour in the last years, there have appeared on the market many reproductions of historical Polish arms and armour, including swords, maces, war hammers, helmets, armour, and the rarest polish swords: karabela. All these reproductions are made by craftsmen in USA Poland, and other Eastern European countries. These objects, in many cases, are very well made and professionally aged, corroded, and damaged, to look old, and for inexperienced collectors look the same as authentic artifacts. These reproductions do not have any historical or investment value.