Persia. A Shamshir Saber, C.1860

This sword has a steel blade, magnetic, with a very sharp edge and a semi-sharp tip, along with a wide spine, designed with two rows of fullers that appear at the midpoint of the blade on both sides, fading off in both directions to a flat surface, the blade measuring 835 in length. The crossguard and grip are in silver, the crossguard designed with a downward thrusting point on both sides, the quillons extending away horizontally and finished in a diamond-shaped point, the adjoining ferrule (wraparound band) incorporating alternating rows of twisted and straight wire, the handle in an L-shape and bearing an ornate floral design on both the obverse and reverse, the sides of the handle bearing multiple bands of thatching, each one separated by a single rule, flanked on both sides with angled rules, the sword measuring 950 mm in length. The scabbard is composed of two pieces of wood placed back-to back, its body wrapped in black-finished leather with a stitched seam evident on the reverse, both the locket and the chape in silver and bearing an ornate floral motif interlaced with swirls and intricate lacing on both sides, the locket designed with large loops on either side, each one of which houses a large ring, the end of the locket beside the throat on both sides designed with a v-shape impression to accommodate the protruding point on the crossguard, the chape finished in a snub-nosed design and capped with an independent rising wide finial, the scabbard measuring 850 mm in length. The blade exhibits marks common to extraction from the scabbard, along with surface wear overall, the grip without imperfections, the leather-wrapped body of the scabbard exhibiting scattered wear along with having experienced wear along the inside curvature edge that exposes the interior wooden structure, the chape and locket without imperfections. Fine.

Footnote: The inspiration for the Shamshir Sword originated in Persia and spread throughout the former Ottoman Empire and beyond into India and the Philippines.