Is this a common Arab Saif ?

[fernando]

Thank you all Gentlemen for your input,

And, by entry order ...

Originally Posted by Sajen

... is the blade chromed? Not the area of my collecting but a very nice sword. It would be a mess when the blade is indeed chromed! ...

Not chromed Detlef, only polished ... possibly with a power tool.

Originally Posted by TVV

... Very nice saif from Southern Yemen. Elgood shows a few swords like this on pages 13 & 14 of his book on Arab arms, and Hales shows some on p.245, including a picture of the Sultan of Lahej and his retinue with such swords. Both authors express a belief that these swords were actually manufactured in Hyderabad for the Yemen market.
What intrigues me about these saifs is the hilt, which has a grip that resembles the Omani/Zanzibari nimcha, but with an Ottoman influenced crossguard instead of multiple branching quillons....

Thank you Teodor; i am learning. I don't have those books; my only Elgood is on firearms. When i kew this was called a saif, i went on my Tirri and saw something of the kind in page 99. Oh, but i wish i had the pictures you mention from Elgood and Hales, specilly the one with the Sultan of Lahej.
Ah, the hilt top resembling the nimcha, Omani Zanzibar and, don't forget, Moroccan; the riddle of the egg and the hen, right ? Bu the way Teodor, can you quote futher paragraphs from those authors on the Hyderabad origin subject ?.

Originally Posted by Kubur

Fernando you're a lucky man, this sword is superb.
Teodor is right and provided the good references.
But I don't think that these swords are from India but from Yemen.
They might have been used in India but not produced in India...
Fernando are you sure that you didn't buy the one from the Royal armouries?
Its almost the same and dated from 1771-1799....

Well, i was not expecting my example was as old as that in the Royal Armouries, but i will be most pleased that it dates as from the 19th century...

Originally Posted by ariel

... There was a wide range of the “ luxuriousness” and this one indeed belongs to the upper 10%.
But IMHO we should all be enriched by seeing the whole gamut.
I have one from the same family, but it is too late to photograph it. Later, OK?...

Thanks much for the grading Ariel. I can't wait to see your family branch .

Originally Posted by kahnjar1

Sorry Teodor. You are of course correct. Just old age creeping up and the brain goes sideways as a result...

Ah, the usual excuse, Stu; getting old and all that jazz; just don't let them brains fall down .