Rare Valdese Hook Saber Early 18th Century

This very unusual weapon belongs to the family of the Goyardes Lyonnaises, the scimitars of the Maurienne valley and the "Beidanas" of the Vaudois valleys (valle Valdese).
These objects probably derive originally from a tool, but their use as a weapon is established from the 16th and 17th centuries, among the Vaudois of Piedmont (north west Italia)
BLADE = it is single-edged, its width gradually increases slightly and the point ends in a hook, with a concave edge.
The back of the blade, very thick, gives it the solidity and rigidity necessary for a weapon. It is decorated in the "guilloche" fashion  over more than half of its length.
On this weapon, the blade does not arise directly from the handle under its flat profile, but is first made up of a long (15 cm) representation of a snake from whose mouth springs the actual cutting part.
Length from the guard to the tip = 70 cm, length of the cutting part = 55 cm, Thickness near the snake = 0.7 cm, width near the snake 1.3 cm, Width near the hook = 2.2 cm
GUARD: It is a small guard in brass, in the shape of an "S"
POMMEL :  brass, in the shape of an oak acorn, it extends a kind of brass "shoe" which ends the grip
GRIP : it is made up of 2 horn plates which are riveted directly on the tang .
It is therefore a very unusual weapon, which due to the use for the mount of brass and not only  iron , must probably date from the beginning of the 18th century rather than the 17th century.
Ref B3Y-2306