[ham]

Gentlemen,

Oddly, there are two other examples of sabres of this type on eBay at the moment:

As forum members noted above this form is Arab, though its range is considerable-- have seen examples from Jerusalem to Jidda. They appear to be local copies of Ottoman swords, not surprising since these regions comprised an important part of the Ottoman Provinces for several centuries. They are usually identifiable by a less defined pommel-crest than the Ottoman, simpler, more rustic guard (as noted above) and characteristic Arab engraved motifs on the mounts. Too, blades tend to be European or in European style, on this type. Later examples have more aesthetic guards but the quillons tend to be quite short, and are generally chained to the pommel on one side, as the first eBay example shows. There is good example in STARA BRON by Dr. Z. Zygulski, p. 254, pl. 259. It is described as an Arab sabre of the 18th century.
The sword referred to in the opening thread showed iron mounts simply engraved, with a toothed edge to the ferrule and appliques; this is highly typical of matchlock muskets from Hyderabad which had a large Arab population for many centuries; more importantly, Hyderabad maintained trade ties with the Arabian Peninsula almost continuously to the late 19th century. Comparison with known Hyderabad sabres indicates close similarities in blade-type as well.

Sincerely,

Ham