Antique 17th century Turkish Ottoman Islamic Sword Shamshir With Damascus Wootz Steel Blade Signed Asad Allāh Iṣfahānī
$15,000.00
Antique Turkish Ottoman Islamic sword, Shamshir, with a 17th century Persian Safavid blade signed by Asad Allāh Iṣfahānī (عملِ آسٓدُالله اصفهانی).
A superb quality curved single-edged massive and sturdy blade is hand-forged from high-quality crucible steel wootz with a fine Damascus wootz pattern.
The blade is cut with segmented fullers, including a central fuller and a series of short double fullers below the spine.
The panels dividing short fullers are finely carved in relief with split-leaf. The ricasso, above " U" shape fullers, is inlaid in gold with a cartouche enclosing beautiful high-quality calligraphy inscription in na'staliq script" Amal-e Asad Allāh Iṣfahānī"عملِ آسٓدُالله اصفهانی. Made by Asad Allāh Iṣfahānī. Legendary Iranian swordsmith: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asadullah_Isfahani.
The Turkish Ottoman hilt features a flattened steel crossguard with shaped flat terminals and a pair of long langets typical of Turkish Ottoman design. It is pierced on the quillon block with a lobed medallion and finely gold inlaid with palmettes and creepers in ottoman design.
The wooden grip scales are covered in grain black leather binding and fastened to the tang of the blade with a rivet. They are secured by diamond-shaped gilt silver washers and topped with a faceted iron cup pommel, affix with gilt silver shaped hinged coil ,through which a silk suspension string can be threaded. The string wraps around the wrist to prevent loss of the weapon in combat.
The sword features two elegantly shaped steel suspension mounts, beautifully adorned with finely inlaid gold creepers on the exterior.
REFERENCES :
1. A sword with a similar shamshir blade, cut with segmented fullers, dated back to the 17th century, and bearing a gold inscription with the name Shah Safi (1629-42) is in The Victoria and Albert Museum collection in London, England. It is featured in the book *Islamic Arms: Victoria & Albert Museum* by Anthony North, on page 32, illustration 26b. You can view it online. Please see the link below:
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O72213/sword-and-sheath/?carousel-image=2006AF3740
Or please see the last picture in the listing showing the sword of Shah Safi and the sword of Shah Tahmasp displayed in The Victoria and Albert Museum. on display in The Victoria and Albert Museum.
2. The lobed medallion at the center of the crossguard closely resembles the lobed medallion found on the crossguard of a 16th-century Turkish Ottoman sword custom-made for Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent. This sword is preserved in the Topkapi Palace Museum in Istanbul and is featured on page 155, number 88, of Esin Atil's book, *The Age of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent*.
3. Another 16th-century shamshir sword, made for Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent, is part of the collection at the Askeri Military Museum in Istanbul. The sword features a wooden grip covered with grain-black leather binding. This information is published in the book "Military Museum Collections" by Sadik Tekeli, on pages 56 and 57.
4. Many Turkish Ottoman swords, published in the book "Sultanların Silahları: Topkapi Sarayı Silah Koleksiyonu" by Hilmi Aydin, feature grips with wood scales covered in grain black leather binding. They have hilts with similar crossguard forms, gold decorations, and iron cup pommels.
5. A shamshir sword that belonged to Sultan Selim is published in the book "Topkapı Sarayı Müzesi Silah Koleksiyonu" on page 66. It also has wood grip scales covered with grain black leather binding.
I believe the handle of these sabers is covered with grain black leather binding because it offers greater stability in grip compared to slippery ivory or horn grip scales. Additionally, 18th-century Ottoman swords with ivory and horn grips feature a bulbous pommel, which provides a firmer grip on the sword.
We will also provide the buyer with photocopies of the pages from the mentioned references together with a certificate of authenticity.
MEASUREMENTS:
The overall length of the sword, including hilt: 92 cm (36.22 inches).
The overall length of the blade: 79 cm (31.1 inches.)
Width of the blade at the ricasso: 3.2 cm (1.26 inches).
The thickness of the blade spine: 6 mm (0.35 inches).
Weight of the sword without the scabbard: 780 grams (1.72 lb).
CONDITION: The sword is in very good condition considering its age of over 300 years. The cutting edge of the blade has minor combat nicks, and the grain leather binding shows minor losses and wear.
To see all 21 pictures of the sword please see the link below:
https://www.antiquesword101.com/Islamic-Oriental-Arms-and-Armor.php#!/Antique-17th-century-Turkish-Ottoman-Islamic-Sword-Shamshir-With-Damascus-Wootz-Steel-Blade-Signed-Asad-All%C4%81h-I%E1%B9%A3fah%C4%81n%C4%AB/p/722641067/category=3736928
PROVENANCE: Acquired from an old Canadian collection of Islamic Art, including Muslim arms and armour.
