Forum: Ethnographic Weapons
29th April 2025, 12:49 PM
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Replies: 53
Views: 62,101
Al-Qadib
Putting aside the question of their authenticity, I assume that the Persian master swordsmiths would have known the measurements of the swords attributed to the Prophet.
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Forum: Ethnographic Weapons
29th April 2025, 12:03 PM
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Replies: 53
Views: 62,101
Comparison to two swords
First is the shamshir attributed to Saif bin Sultan in the National Museum of Oman, dated as 1675 by the museum. The Zanzibar shamshir has almost exactly the same style and measurements as this...
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Forum: Ethnographic Weapons
29th April 2025, 10:30 AM
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Replies: 53
Views: 62,101
Royal shamshirs
The other interesting question is: what happened to the royal shamshirs of the Sultans of Zanzibar - where are they?
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Forum: Ethnographic Weapons
29th April 2025, 10:17 AM
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Replies: 53
Views: 62,101
Ownership
Thanks Jim, that seems plausible. The next question would be who it belonged to. As stated previously in the thread, the shamshir was used as the regalia for Omani-Zanzibari sultans and high-level...
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Forum: Ethnographic Weapons
28th April 2025, 05:51 PM
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Replies: 53
Views: 62,101
Ivory deterioration
Here's a link to an Australian museum website that mentions conditions for the deterioration of ivory:
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Forum: Ethnographic Weapons
28th April 2025, 05:24 PM
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Replies: 53
Views: 62,101
17th century
Ivory can degrade within hundreds or thousands of years depending on the conditions. I had this confirmed by an expert in ivory. The local expert said in this case it would take more than four...
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Forum: Ethnographic Weapons
28th April 2025, 12:23 PM
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Replies: 53
Views: 62,101
Rain in Zanzibar
In fact, it's rainy season right now in Zanzibar.
It's not like the drizzle in the UK - it's a proper tropical downpour. It can go on for hours. If you're outside you get completely drenched,...
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Forum: Ethnographic Weapons
28th April 2025, 12:13 PM
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Replies: 53
Views: 62,101
The shamshir
Here's the sword. It's almost exactly the same dimensions as the shamshir in the National Museum of Oman, except the blade is slightly narrower. However, there might be a reason for that, which I'll...
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Forum: Ethnographic Weapons
28th April 2025, 09:16 AM
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Replies: 53
Views: 62,101
It's worth bearing in mind the climate of...
It's worth bearing in mind the climate of Zanzibar. It's a tropical island six degrees below the equator. It has two rainy seasons with torrential rain and flooding. Annual rainfall is av. 1684 mm...
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Forum: Ethnographic Weapons
21st March 2025, 05:44 PM
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Replies: 53
Views: 62,101
Yes, it's Persian, but most likely would have...
Yes, it's Persian, but most likely would have been owned by an Omani.
Just trying to figure out if the ivory blocks on the grip have been removed or decomposed while underground. We're looking at...
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Forum: Ethnographic Weapons
17th March 2025, 03:11 PM
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Replies: 53
Views: 62,101
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Forum: Ethnographic Weapons
17th March 2025, 12:51 PM
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Replies: 53
Views: 62,101
Omani / Persian shamshir found in Zanzibar
The sword was dug up from the earth (but not that deep - just below the surface).
We assume the grip would have been walrus ivory but it looks like the ivory has completely decomposed until...
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Forum: Ethnographic Weapons
11th March 2025, 03:50 PM
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Replies: 53
Views: 62,101
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