Quote:
Originally Posted by GePi
A nice piece, condition notwithstanding.
The cartouche reads amal-e assadullah esfahani, which does not tell us much because the majority of signed Persian Shamshirs and Imitations thereof bear the name of this semimythical smith from Isfahan.
This to me looks like a genuine high quality 18th or early 19th century Persian example. Especially the chiseled scabbard fittings are very nice, although the swiveling carrying rings are odd, usually those are fixed and often decorated with file and piercing work, a replacement perhaps? Does the blade actually fit the scabbard by the way? The hilt seems to be plain and high quality examples usually have hilt and scabbard fitting decorated in a similar manner.
Marks like the polished-in cross at the forte are occasionally found on later Afghan swords (see these examples I have posted here http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ghlight=afghan) and that was surely applied at a later date. |
My guess is this is a Persian blade that was given a new hilt and scabbard in Afghanistan. The hilt is probably plain because it was intended to be used in heavy combat, and it probably was, since one of the cross guards are snapped off, and the chape on the scabbard itself is missing and appears to have snapped off as well. I also see small nicks on the cutting edge, possibly a result of repeated sharpening?