Feather Pattern welded blade
 

On right side of blade inlaid in gold is
"Made for Charles Forbes' (written in Farsi)

On the left side of the blade
"this sword is equal to the sword of the Great Ali"
(written in Arabic)

On the spine is the date
Dec 24, 1813 (1229)

Rampant lion inlaid on blade

Homogenous one piece hilt is a chevron pattern welded steel.

All decoration is inlaid in gold.

Blade is a single edged pattern welded feather.

pattern steel with has a clip point.

Blade length is 29 & 3/4".

Overall length is 34 & 1/4".

Crossguard is 5 & 1/4" wide.

Scabbard is wood covered with black leather.

Throat, chape and suspension ring mounts are copper reppoussee with gold gilt with European motifs.

Has two suspensions rings, the middle one a later addition during the time of use.

Throat has frog also.

Charles Forbes Sword
 

Charles Forbes Sword Photos...

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More Photo's of Forbes Sword...

More Pics
 

Mre pics of Forbes sword

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Another photo of Forbes sword

Charles Forbes sword
 

Would be especially interested if anyone has information about Charles Forbes, as far as I know there were two Charles Forbes in India that were the right age to have owned this sword.

Because of the specific date it has been suggested a Christmas gift from his wife or a presentation from his regiment.

Has also been suggested the translation for " this sword is equal to the sword of the Great Ali", would be an arrogant saying for a smith to write and may be misinterpeted.

The suspension ring nearest the tip has been add during the period of use. The style for having a two suspension rings started about 1822 and suggests a long period of use for this sword.

rand

Absolutely breathtaking sabre Rand!! and obviously with some great history given the inscriptions described. I very much look forward to hearing more on this sword from those here well versed on Islamic swords, and on the blade. While it appears to be damascus steel, the clipped blade tip seems atypical for such sabres. The Ottoman form hilt, the date and inscription to Charles Forbes, possibly a diplomatic gift? After the campaigns in Egypt, both British and French officers greatly impressed by the Mamluk warriors, sought to have sabres of the form used by them. The European versions of these swords became regulation patterns that of course exist to this day.

Admiringly :)
Jim

on August 4th, "ham" gave an answer for a translation, who seems to me similar than that one, as follow ;

"THERE IS NO HERO LIKE 'ALI AND SWORD LIKE DHUL'FAKAR"

in fact, no way to translate word to word, but just the spirit :o

à +

Dom

Good Day

the translation given to me, is lightly différent, it's a Chiite epitaph;
nobody of other that Ali, and his sword "Al Faqar" (two-pointed magical sword) ;)

in a sense ; as "best young man" :p

Regards

à +

Dom

Presentation in Europe
 

Hey Jim,

Thanks for your feedback. Because the blade appears to be entirely of Indian manufacture (my opinion) , I had dismissed the idea of presentation outside India. But that is certainly a possiblity, thats for pointing that out.

rand

Thanks for the info Dom,

Have a feeling you are most likely correct....

rand

Clipped Point
 

Hey Jim,

The clipped point is inusual, its more to the Russian or Dutch taste. When I first saw this sword about 16 years ago displayed about 16' above the floor, remember my first impression was that it may be Russian, only seeing the sword sheathed. Can't remember if I was able to see the blade before buying it.....

rand

Hi Rand and Jim,

I have occasionally seen these points on British Mamelukes as well.

All the Best
Jeff

Clip Point
 

Jeff,

Interesting point (bad pun)

or

I get the point (bad pun II, the sequel)


rand
could not resist some levity...


Jeff,

Your blade looks a though it may be a pattern weld? Is it? The chevron shaped designs on the chape are very interesting.

rand

Posted in classified swap section
 

Posted this sabre in classified swap section but is owned by me so is OK to continue discussion. Wanted to open this sword for opinions whle I have it...

rand

You're very welcome Rand, I'm glad to be able to offer anything helpful on this very handsome sabre. There were many outfitters in India to provide dress and presentation weapons for British officers, many of them private makers and many such as Manson in Calcutta handled regulation patterns.
There were of course also such outfitters in Egypt and in Aden in Arabia.

Thank you Jeff for showing the clipped tip mameluke blade, which were indeed often seen on these. If not mistaken, this clipped point was favored on many German cavalry blades in the 18th century which of course ended up with British swords. In one reference book , "Schwert Degen Sabel" by Gerhard Siefert (1962) in a line drawing group illustrating terms for varying blade forms, such a tip is referred to as a 'pandour point'. The association to these flamboyant auxiliary troops seems unclear, but the blade feature is known on some 18th century French blades as well.

With these instances considered, it does seem distinctly a European favored feature and not typically occurring on Indian, Arabian or Mamluk swords. Since 'damascus' blades were not produced in the European blade centers (as far as I know :) that used this distinct clipped point, this blade is clearly an intriguing anomaly with interesting historical potential.

All best regards,'
Jim

To me the damascus pattern seems to have been acid etched I see areas where there are breaks or worn spots in the pattern. This may have been a European made to look like an Arabic sword. Notice on the center picture that the pattern comes all the down to the edge? The bottom pic shows a wide splotchy area where they got a bit sloppy with the wax the hilt has the same pattern on it and since the grip would be oval in cross section I don't think the pattern could be exact pattern the same as a flat blade. Still a very nice sword.


Lew

This sword is now being offered for sale. Forum guidelines prohibit discussion of items being sold. Thread closed until the sale is completed.