Help identifying a blade
 

Hello,
I just posted a sword for identification in the "European Armoury" part of the forum : http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=13365

Although the fittings of the sword look european, it seems to me that the blade itself looks oriental, maybe a yatagan blade. There is a stamp on the blade, that might be arabic scripting, but I can't tell for sure.
Any idea ?

Good call moving this to European, as I think this is French, however the blade is I believe an Indian sosun pattah blade. I entered more on the European thread.

Jim

Hi Jim,
I believe you are right, at least about the blade. I know very little about European hilts, but it could be French.
Jens

Thank you Jens, it seems like the stamp in the cartouche resembles some tulwars we have discussed, and in about the same location on the blade.

Jim

Interesting
 

Interesting piece, I found a similar one last October with an ivory hilt of a real gnarly shape in exactly the same style and form....My thoughts then were hunting cutlass be it for court dress or use, belonging to Turkish diplomats in European or other courts. They would make for a wonderful stand alone collection....perhaps this example for comparission will better help identify origins and use....

Images below

Gav

Very nice piece indeed. Do i see a pattern on the blade that might be directing to a wootz blade worth etching?

I have the same feeling. A wootz blade would be a clue for an indian blade, rather than a turkish one. Will let you know if it happens to be wootz !

Gav, thanks for showing this piece. The ornamental part at the base of the blade makes me think of balkanic weapons.

And thanks a lot to all of you for your very usefull help !

Well, the etching of the blade revealed a twisted multi-bar pattern welded damascus, just like the ribbon of ottoman yatagans.

Looks like I might be on track :) , thanks for sharing.

Gav

Indian blade with similar profile from Bonhams past catalogues.

Similar profile indeed Norman but it seems only 2/3rd the length at best, akin to a hunting hanger.

Delor, is it possible to see more detail of the two highlighted areas shown in your image here...my photo shop swills are not the best...are the makers stamps? Can you get a good clear profiule shot of the makers mark on the blade too?

Gav

I think the blade is turkish. I remember seeing Yataghans with similar stamps + i have a Qama with the same stamp. Whats written in it seems to be يا روح which means "O soul" but am not sure since i have the eyes of a mole :)

beautiful piece non the less.

I also take the line the blade is from yathagan

I had posted my Yataghan here and mentioned someone else had regarded the mark on mine to mean Ya Ali but then another response here was it is just Ali. I have seen this mark on a number of blades and it has been mentioned they appear on firearms as well. My blade does seem crucible steel but not patterned in the manner we see above on that very nice assembly of cultures. The mark on the one above seems it may be a different character.

Cheers

GC

Some closer photos of the stamps.
I've been said that the first guard stamp is for small silver work in Paris, from 1762 to 1768.

Great development on this thread, and good to see all the elements coming together. Gav's astute eye really caught those stamps in the havy motif on the hilt, and the hallmarks seem to work right into the right period, though I would have thought more toward Napoleonic. Still, the French attraction to using these pandour units, which as mentioned on the European Armoury thread, would concur nicely as the yataghan type blade melded with European fashion mounts were commonly used.
As noted, Ottoman blades would have been highly favored, though it is known some yataghan style blades were produced in forged steel by European makers.