We can spend a lot of time puzzling over the price, but while we are waiting on a translation that may shed some light on why this sword was so special to those who bid for it, we can shift the discussion to the blade. It has some fascinating features.
The panel at the base of the blade with a chiseled arabesque is of a style, which is found on Ottoman blades from the late 18th, early 19th century. To me, from a pure historical perspective, this is fascinating. Towards the end of the 18th century, Ottoman control over Egypt was nominal. Then Napoleon's invasion came and contributed further to the general chaos, creating a power vacuum, which Mohammad Ali took full advantage of. Of course, Muhammad Ali had his own ambitions and after the Greek War of Independence crashed with Sultan Mahmud II directly. As for Sudan, this is the period of the final decline and disintegration of the Funj Sultanate. Interesting times for a blade decorated in an Ottoman style to end up there.
The Ottoman blades with these panels tend to be curved blades made of wootz. This one looks very much like a Solingen trade blade. It does not look like an earlier European broadsword blade, or an even earlier Mameluke saif badawi blade. It looks very much like all the other blades from the 19th century which were mass produced for export to Sudan. Why would decoration characteristic of high-end Ottoman sabers from this period be applied to a trade blade? Was someone in Cairo or even further South emulating royal Ottoman workshop work? Or was this blade worked in Istanbul and meant as a diplomatic gift to someone in Sudan?
The ricasso metal plates indicate that it was rehilted multiple times, causing damage to the tang to require such a way of attaching to the hilt. The inscription with its inlay may have been added at a later time, during the Mahdiyya, almost a century later. Compared to other kaskara blades with similar panels with inscriptions, which are either acid etched or very crudely engraved and almost never inlaid, it is actually of superior quality.
As for the hilt, I will let Edster comment on the comet motif and its significance.
Price aside, it is a very nice and interesting piece,
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