A silver-mounted Ottoman shamshir
Turkey, 18th or early 19th century
Curved 34 inch blade of watered steel. Silver crossguard chased with florals. Hilt with gripscales of translucent brown horn, the bulbous pommel pierced for a lanyard and set with boteh-shaped silver panels; engraved silver spine. Scabbard fully sheathed in silver and decorated overall with chased repousse panels of floral meander and repeating designs within various borders.
Condition: Blade showing scattered light scratches and areas of spotting/staining with perhaps 50-60% of the partially faded watered pattern remaining. Crossguard loose, it and the scabbard with a dark, unpolished patina. Gripscales with minor age cracks.
See Illustration
