Swordfish bill sword

A sword made from the jawbone or rostrum of a swordfish. It has a wooden hilt and setting for the blade. One side of the ‘blade’ is painted with a maritime scene. The scene consists of three single-masted sailing vessels, red, blue and white in colour, accompanied by yellow and red rowing boats. In the sea amongst the boats are a large sea creature, possibly a whale or swordfish, and two further fins. There are two figures aboard the white vessel, one at the bow is harpooning one of the creatures.

Swords and daggers made from swordfish are found in many cultures. Those like this with painted scenes of whaling were most commonly made by sailors on whaling ships, particularly in North America, in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

This sword was previously described as wooden. There is a label on the reverse referring to its use at a cake cutting ceremony to celebrate the handing over of a large collection of maritime memorabilia from Sydney Cumbers to the Cutty Sark Preservation Society in 1953. The Look Out was the name of his residence in Gravesend. It is believed that he was the previous owner of the sword.