Interesting Tribal Shaska with wootz blade

ALEX · 26th January 2006, 10:30 AM

Rick,

Regarding your Tribal shashka - it has Assad Allah stamp (my friend can read Arabic) - a sign of Persian blade - the pattern and form on yours closely resemble the blade I just received, and will post shortly. Mine is also thin and light. Please notice the striking similarity in patter AND the bare handle, the way it connects to the blade - I think it could have been re-handled into shaska from shamshir (just my quess though).

And I second your opinion Rick - it's NOT sham pattern. I'd say it's Water or Network wootz.

Rivkin · 26th January 2006, 01:43 PM

I could just read "Allah". Following Astvatsaturjan's analysis in "Turkish weapons", it is hard to point age or even origin of "A-A" blades. It is quite similar to "Andrea Ferrara" situation - the signature that became so popular that no one really knows which ones are original and which ones are not.

ham · 27th January 2006, 05:47 PM

RSword has himself a fine and unusual example of a shashka with wootz blade-- it may be a refitted Persian one but it would be necessary to consider its thickness and section before establishing this. The curvature is so shallow, however, that it most likely was commissioned by the owner to be hilted as it now appears, probably in Tbilisi. This was an important center of arms production, where Christians, Muslims, Jews and Hindus, and too many ethnicities to list, worked and traded. Wootz was certainly forged there, and possibly elsewhere in the Caucasus as well. Tbilisi smiths were to a considerable extent influenced by then-pervasive Ottoman forms-- the "comma-" shaped inlay on the pommel evokes the small reinforcing plates found on the pommels of Ottoman swords where the lanyard passes through, and the inscription on this blade is in Ottoman, rather than Persian, style as well. Incidentally, it isn't a signature, it is a prayer, MASHA ALLAH! or GOD BLESS!

Nice sword and a rare one.

Ham

26th January 2006, 10:30 AM	#1
ALEX Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 936	Stamp and Pattern Rick, Regarding your Tribal shashka - it has Assad Allah stamp (my friend can read Arabic) - a sign of Persian blade - the pattern and form on yours closely resemble the blade I just received, and will post shortly. Mine is also thin and light. Please notice the striking similarity in patter AND the bare handle, the way it connects to the blade - I think it could have been re-handled into shaska from shamshir (just my quess though). And I second your opinion Rick - it's NOT sham pattern. I'd say it's Water or Network wootz.

27th January 2006, 05:47 PM	#3
ham Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 190	RSword has himself a fine and unusual example of a shashka with wootz blade-- it may be a refitted Persian one but it would be necessary to consider its thickness and section before establishing this. The curvature is so shallow, however, that it most likely was commissioned by the owner to be hilted as it now appears, probably in Tbilisi. This was an important center of arms production, where Christians, Muslims, Jews and Hindus, and too many ethnicities to list, worked and traded. Wootz was certainly forged there, and possibly elsewhere in the Caucasus as well. Tbilisi smiths were to a considerable extent influenced by then-pervasive Ottoman forms-- the "comma-" shaped inlay on the pommel evokes the small reinforcing plates found on the pommels of Ottoman swords where the lanyard passes through, and the inscription on this blade is in Ottoman, rather than Persian, style as well. Incidentally, it isn't a signature, it is a prayer, MASHA ALLAH! or GOD BLESS! Nice sword and a rare one. Ham Last edited by ham; 27th January 2006 at 06:10 PM.

26th January 2006, 01:43 PM	#2
Rivkin Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 655	I could just read "Allah". Following Astvatsaturjan's analysis in "Turkish weapons", it is hard to point age or even origin of "A-A" blades. It is quite similar to "Andrea Ferrara" situation - the signature that became so popular that no one really knows which ones are original and which ones are not.