Antique Gold Islamic Arab Damascus Steel Sword With 265 Grams 22k Gold Mounts

When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

Antique Gold Islamic Arab Damascus Steel Sword With 265 Grams 22k Gold Mounts:
$45000.00

Antique Islamic Arab Damascus Steel Sword With 265 Grams Solid 22k Gold Mounts Antique 17th - 19th Century Islamic Arab Damascus Steel Sword With 265 Grams Of Solid 22k Gold Mounts

Click images to enlarge

Description

Antique, 17th-19th century mounted in solid 22k gold museum-quality Islamic Middle Eastern - Arabian, Arab sword "Saif" in the form of the Indo-Persian saber shamshir in a characteristic Arab style, with 17th - 18th century Indian Mughal blade with late 18th century Arabian Peninsula gold mounting.

The sword, wooden scabbard and hilt are enclosed in solid 22k gold.

A hilt comprises a grip with camel bone grip scales, enclosed by solid gold straps and wrapped in a solid gold wire at the base, rising to a solid gold cup-pommel, jeweled with faceted ruby stone.
Solid silver crossguard with bud-shaped terminals is embellished with solid gold repousse plaques adorned with arabesques design.

The wooden scabbard is clad with solid gold mounts formed from several separate elements, made of 22 karats solid gold sheet, it is embossed and engraved with typical Arabic tribal motifs and mounted with two large bulging solid gold suspension mounts (rings missing).
The Damascus steel blade of the sword is made in Mughal Indian Empire in late 17th - early 18th century, in characteristic of this period time Indian sword blades made in the style of the European blades by Genoese and Styrian sword smiths. Those blades were imported to India during the late 16th -early 17th century and known in Mughal India by the name Firangi.

FEATURES OF THE BLADE:

The blade is made of hand-forged welded mechanical Damascus steel with a watered pattern with a slightly visible welded Damascus pattern with horizontal lines known as the Muhammad’s ladder pattern (see the last two photos in the listing). Long, slightly curved, sturdy, blade is cut on both sides with a broad ,full-length fuller and a short, slender fuller along the back edge. The spine near the crossguard is stamped with pseudo-European makers marks comprising series of Latin alphabet letters: Ɪ o Ɪ o Ɪ o Ɪ o Ɪ o Ɪ o Ɪ o.

The Ricasso of the blade near the cross guard is bounded in reinforcing steel collar since as valuable old Mughal Damascus steel blade was removed from the old hilt and remounted into the newer gold mounted Arab hilt. This procedure of the remounted old expensive blades and reinforcing the ricasso by collar can be seen in the many Turkish Ottoman swords with old blades mounted with 17th-19th century hilts.

These exceptional qualities, gold-mounted Arab swords "Saif " are classified as "Royal Sabers" that belonged to Arab kings, sultans, or sheiks, sometimes they were presented to very important persons (other monarchs).
In Muslim culture, the offering of the sword is an act of definite friendship, loyalty, trust, and mutual protection between the giver and beneficiary.

Most of these royal swords have leather-trimmed scabbards and individual gold fittings. This sword's scabbard is entirely clad with a 22-karat solid gold sheet.

REFERENCES :

1.An Arab sword "Saif" with similar hilt and gold mounting dating to the late18th century is published in the book: Islamic Arms and Armour : The (one thousand one) collection / by Mohammed Khalil Ibrahim. Volume II.Page.969.Cat.No:(865).

2. An Indian sword tulwar with related fullered blade dated to the 17th - 18th century is published in the book: The Hindu Warrior: The Roy Elvis Collection of South Indian Arms and Armour. Page.148. Fig.120.

3. An Indian sword tulwar with related fullered blade dated to the 16th - 17th century is published in the book: Mortal Beauty. Arms and Armour of India and China. Exhibition catalogue. Moscow: The State Museum of Oriental Art. by E. Karlova, A.Pastukhov. Page. 214.Fig.125

4.A similar sword gift from Saudi King Abdul-Aziz bin Saud to Prince Ahmad Shah Khan in Afghanistan was sold at a French sale in Paris in 2013 for 955,400 Euros (1.2 million USD).

5.A very similar sword, not entirely but partially in a gold-clad scabbard, is published in the Sotheby's catalog, "Art of the Islamic World," London, October 6, 2010 (lot 303), and sold for £ 20000 ($ 31.828).

This price was from 2010 when the gold price was lower and Islamic antiques were cheaper than today.

MEASUREMENTS:
Overall length with the scabbard: 89 cm (35.4 inches).
Overall length without scabbard: 81.5 cm (32.09 inches).
Width of the blade at the widest point: 3.3 cm (1.3 inches).
Total weight of the sword with scabbard: 1.319 kg (2.9079 lb.).

CONDITION: with signs of age and usage, the solid gold scabbard clad with some abrasion dents, scratches and nicks is common in these types since 22k gold is very soft, two of the carrying rings of the suspension mounts are missing.

THE BUYER WILL BE PROVIDED WITH A COPY OF THE PAGES FROM THE MENTIONED REFERENCES, TOGETHER WITH A CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICITY, AND THE JEWELER CERTIFICATE FROM MARCH 05, 2021. GUARANTEEING THAT THE MOUNTINGS OF THE SWORD ARE MADE OF 265 GRAMS SOLID 22K GOLD.

This rare and unique museum quality sword has exceptional artistic, historical, and investment value.PROVENANCE: Ex-private old Canadian collection of Islamic art, which also included antique arms and armor formed in the 1980s.ES1268
Payment PayPal Shipping

International Shipping Costs will be calculated after the sale based on the purchaser address.

Items will be shipped within 5 business days of receiving payment.

Terms of Sale

All items are guaranteed to be authentic antiques, and not reproductions.All our artifacts are accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity.We provide a full money return guarantee if a state museum judges theartifact to be non-authentic.Canadian buyers please note: We are required to charge HST or GST on all orders mailed to Canadiandestinations. The invoice we send to Canadian buyers will include the appropriate tax.

About Us Our business HUNDRED & ONE ANTIQUES is based on a long family tradition of collecting fine European and Oriental Antiques and Art, with a special interest in Antique Arms and Armour. We have been involved in antique trading since 1970.

Welcome and thank you for visiting

Hundred and One Antiques Pictures sell!Auctiva offers Free Image Hosting and Editing.300+ Listing Templates!
Auctiva gets you noticed!

The complete Selling Solution.

Track Page Views With
Auctiva's Counter