Important Collection of Antique Asian Arms
Lot 133:
A fine representation of one of the distinct swords of the Ottoman Empire, this sword does not have a specific name but is iconically associated with the Persian trade blade thatit is mounted with. These trade blades are all distinguished by several design elements, but which then come in a variety of sizes and shapes. The first is the chiseled design at the base ofthe blade with an inscription that often reads Assadullah which is either a reference to a 17th century swordsmith or a mark of the bladesmith guild that made these blades (Pinchot 2002).These blades hearkened back to earlier Safavid swords with more complex fullers and were invariably made of good quality wootz steel, such as this example. This blade has an especiallyfine wootz pattern of dark Kara Khorasan style wootz and with a complex fullering and blade geometry. In addition to the quality of the workmanship of the blade, the ricasso is decoratedwith gold koftgari inscriptions in Arabic, from the Quran.The mounts of this swords are of indeterminate origin, while the hilt is in the classic style. These sort of carved grips have been associated with North Africa and Egypt during the Ottomanperiod which is a reasonable geographic attribution though swords of this type would have been widely traded.Total Length (inside scabbard if present) : 37 1/4" Blade Length : 30 3/4"References:1. Elgood, R. (2009). The Arms of Greece. Thames and Hudson.2. Hales, R. (2013). A Lifetimeâ€â„¢s Passion: Islamic and Oriental Arms and Armour3. Pinchot, O. (2002) On the Persian Shamshir and the Signature of Assad Allah. Journal ofArms Collecting.Detailed condition reports are not included in this catalog. For additional information, including condition reports, please contact us at [email protected]
Share this lot:
