Catalogue
Ottoman Empire, c1840, shamshir style sword presented to Admiral Sir Charles Napier by the Sultan of Turkey, Abdulmejid I, in recognition of his services in the Second Turko-Egyptian War (1839-41), referred to as the Syrian Campaign because most of the fighting was in Syria, the sword hilt has a mameluke sword type grip of brown polished bone and a pistol butt-shaped pommel, the gilt back-piece is decorated with leaves sandwiched between the bone pieces back and front, there is a hole in the pommel for a sword-knot and a gilt chain is attached to the ring set into the tip of the pommel and the curved quillons on the gilt cross-guard, on the obverse of this is a large diamond inset in the centre surrounded by sixteen smaller diamonds and from these, sixteen rows of diamonds radiate outwards in a sunburst pattern, a diamond at the end of each quillon is surrounded with eight smaller diamonds, the reverse of the cross-guard is gilt embossed with leaves and a gilt flower is embossed on the tip of each quillon to correspond with the diamond 'flower' on the other side, the blade is very curved, of Damascus steel, with no grooves and is flat-backed, the scabbard is wood covered with black hide stitched together with wire and there is a long top locket with indentations for the langets of the hilt and a nearly full-length slit at the back to permit sheathing and withdrawal of the blade, and made in one piece with it is an additional locket bearing a ring at the back edge and a mid-locket, very similar to the supplementary one is attached to the back edge, a long chape is fitted with an ornamental shoe and all three mounts are decorated with leaves, lyres and horns, two 1827 pattern sword-knots are attached to the top and mid-lockets. One small diamond missing, otherwise very fine.
Estimate $50,000
SOLD $31,000