help with calligraphy on Shamshir and/or Kilij
 

Hi new member here and I do not have much knowledge of these swords I obtained in Amman recently. Based on googling images I believe these are examples of a Shamshir and/or Kilij sward - presumably Ottoman-Turk period in the region. They appear to be at least 50 years old. Is it possible for someone with knowledge of the calligraphy to help me identify both the maker and the terms on these swords? Thanks

Hello and welcome!

As a rule, you should post photos of the whole sword!

In order to get a more educated answer you should post photos of the whole sword.

All said, both look like modern Indian made decorative swords.

These are contemporary work, made for the tourist trade.

I am quite sure these are "tourist grade," seems reasonable to assume as they do not appear to be very well made. Sorry for the partial photo, but I am mostly interested if someone can help me understand the calligraphy on the blades. The two appear to be different cursive styles. one with square calligraphy and the other entirely different. Thank you again.

Well that makes sense. It's like someone ground off the yelmens! :eek:

I have wandered the souk of Amman. Very difficult to find something genuine of quality there. Almost everything is modern Indian made... And almost all sellers were saying everything they sell is genuine beduin work...

I only found a few shibriya daggers that were probably locally made but their quality was horrible.

help with calligraphy on Shamshir and/or Kilij
 

OK - new to this forum and trying to find my way on posting replies. My initial message was asking for help in understanding the calligraphy on the 2 swords posted. Appreciate the comments on these being made in India for tourists. This is probably true as I found them in a back office of an art dealer while chatting. However - my main question is can someone help me understand the calligraphy on both swords and maker marks? The bottom sword has calligraphy on both sides of blade and on top, appears square islamic calligraphy. The top sword appears older and has calligraphy on both sides of blade and on top of the blade, but this is much more cursive and artistic. Again any thoughtful help, much appreciated. Also - someone mentioned I should post only full pictures of the swords - see attachment.

Thank you for posting the pictures of the whole swords!

As these are purely decorative/touristy (and I must say of very, very low quality) items, the script also has purely decorative purpose.

However, on real swords in most cases the script has talismanic role and usually includes verses from the Quran and wishes for good health and protection for the owner and for fear and deadly wounds for the enemy.

All said, in this case and in my oppinion the maker marks, if any, as well as the text have absolutely no relevance whatsoever, as these two are not even real swords.

Well, these are real swords. Not historical, but theoretically practical.
As a decorative display on top of a book shelf they are admirably fine. As a matter of fact, we don’t even know their functional quality: perhaps, battle-wise they may be even better than mass-produced 16 century examples. Even cheap modern steels may be stronger and more resilient.

IMHO, each person has a God-given right to decorate his man-cave the way he wants. The only point here whether they were sold under false pretenses.

And please notice that the owner knows they are +/- new. He just wanted a translation, no more.