the steel blade of tapering form, the hilt and cross guard clad entirely in gold, with gold chain linking quillon and pommel, the wood scabbard clad entirely in gold, decorated in repoussé with floral sprays, geometric designs and other floral motifs
98 cm. long

Footnotes

Provenance
Sir Harold Beeley; and thence by descent.

Sir Harold Beeley KCMG, CBE (15 February 1909 – 27 July 2001) was a British diplomat, historian, Middle East advisor to Ernest Bevin, twice appointed British Ambassador to Cairo during both Suez crises & founder of the World of Islam Trust in London. Between 1930 and 1939 he held academic posts at a number of universities including Oxford and University College London. Following the war in 1946 he joined the Diplomatic Service and was appointed to his first ambassadorship in Saudi Arabia in 1955. It is likely that this sword was presented to him at this point in his career.

Additional information

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- Islamic and Indian Art

A repoussé gold-mounted steel sword (saif) presented to Sir Harold Beeley KCMG, CBE (1909-2001) Saudi Arabia, circa 1950

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Matthew Thomas