[CharlesS]

As many of you know, I am fascinated by blades from the Islamic world that are clearly from one place, but show influences of other areas via trade, seafarers, etc. I have come to call these "cross cultural" pieces.

This one is an excellent example. Clearly it is Indonesian in design and manufacture. The pamor steel, the ornately carved horn hilt, and even the size suggest such an origin. However, if we look more carefully at it, there are a couple of features that do not seem Indonesian at all.

Note the chiseled forte in a floral motif. The shape of the chiseled area at the forte is very similar to the shape of the bolsters on many Ottoman yataghans. The chiseling then extends further down the spine of the blade, as if to presume a reinforced spine, though actually just chiseled from the same blade. This is a feature very common to the spines on some larger Indian swords. On Indian swords these reinforcements down the spine are normally a separate piece, but they can be chiseled on the blade as a faux reinforced edge as well.

On this Indonesian sword we can only guess at the intent, but for those of you familiar with Ottoman yats and Indian swords with reinforced spines, you will certainly understand what I am getting at.

Dimensions:
Overall length: 26.5in.
Blade length: 21.25in.
Blade's widest point: 1.25in.