We have owned this shamshir for many years. We bought it at a San
Francisco gun show from a man who was the provost marshal for the
Southern N.A.T.O. Command in Europe after W.W.2. The blade is 29 inches
in a straight line, and 35 inches overal, with a wootz blade of Kara Khorassan.
The scabbard is made of three pieces so as to be taken apart for cleaning.
The blade has a cartouche which sadly has lost it's gold. The belt and
silver buckles are 100 percent intact.
This sword was owned by the late Martin H. Mitchell. Here is the
written provenance from his wife, which accompanied the sword.
Statement Of Provenance.
The antique silver mounted Pakistani sword and belt were presented to
my husband the late Martin H. Mitchell, in 1960 in Karachi, Pakistan. Mr.
Mitchell was in charge of foreign operations in that country for the
Tidewater Oil Co., a property of J. Paul Getty. They conducted surface
Petroleum surveys and exploratory drilling in Baluchistan for six years.
During a portion of our service there Pakistan suffered a severe cholera
epidemic in several remote areas including the Sind desert. My husband
volunteered the use of Getty corporate aircraft and resources. He sent a
quantity of shrouds down to the Sind so that they could bury their dead.
His cultural sensitivity to this need was deeply appreciated.
The ruler of the Makram tribe in the epidemic area was a sheikh who
had been educated a Sandhurst. When he presented this sword to my
husband as a token of gratitude from his people to the distinguished
American, He said that the silver scabbard and mounts had been made in
Hyderabad, India, and that the blade had come from Persia, and that it
had seen combat in the Sind where his ancestors were traditional leaders.
This sword has been in our continuous possession for over 30 years.
Mrs. Martin H. Mitchell
San Ramon, California
1993.
An Indo-Persian Shamshir With Daghestani Scabbard And Suspension Belt
Late 18th/19th Century
With curved single-edged blade (extreme tip missing), the forte on one side with octagonal panel chiselled in nas-taliq script 'Made by Ismail Jamaqand', and on the other with two gold-inlaid cartouches inscribed in nas-taliq, script 'May the shamshir of Bahadur Khan be victorious', an elongated panel along the back edge inscribed with a Qu'ranic verse in gold thulth script 'Victory is from God and the conquest is near', the hilt comprising iron quillon-block with gold-damascened decoration and borders, pointed langets and quillons with button terminals, gold-damascened grip-strap, pommel-cap en suite with the quillon-block, and walrus-ivory grip-scales, in its wood-lined silver scabbard decorated with nielloed foliage along the outside, the locket and chape (terminal missing) enriched with engraved gold foliage with borders of cabochon turquoise beads (some missing), the inside punched with a scaled design over its entire length, gold-damascened suspension mounts, and complete with its buff-leather suspension straps and belt with silver mounts and clasps en suite with the locket and chape
90.2 cm. blade
Dieser Säbel entstand vermutlich in den ersten Jahrzehnten nach der Eroberung Ägyptens durch die Osmanen (d.h. nach 1517). Darauf verweist eine der drei Inschriften auf der schartigen Klinge, die demnach tatsächlich im Kampf verwendet wurde. Es handelt sich bei der Inschrift um die Meistersignatur eines nicht näher bekannten Ata Muhammad, der offenbar in der Mitte des 16. Jahrhunderts tätig war. Als Teil seines Namens ist das arabische Wort "misri" zu erkennen, was auf seine ägyptische bzw. im alten Sprachgebrauch Kairiner Herkunft hindeutet.
Die leicht gebogene, an der Spitze zweischneidige Rückenklinge dieses Säbels zeigt Reste eines gravierten, nun aber unkenntlichen Dekors. Rein von der Anordnung des Dekors entspricht sie weitestgehend einer ebenfalls in der Türckischen Cammer befindlichen Klinge (Inv.-Nr. Y 0082), die zu Beginn des 17. Jahrhunderts unter mamlukischen Einfluss im mittlerweile zum Osmanischen Reich gehörenden Damaskus geschmiedet wurde. Das griffnahe Kreismedaillon scheint jedoch statt mit einer Inschrift mit einer Tierdarstellung gefüllt gewesen zu sein, wie es auch auf ähnlich gestalteten Klingen der Mamluken aus der Zeit vor 1517 zu finden ist. Ob es sich bei der Klinge dieses Säbels jedoch um eine ältere, mamlukische oder aber um eine jüngere, osmanische mit mamlukischen Stilelementen handelt, lässt sich aufgrund des schlechten Erhaltungszustandes nicht bestimmen.
