Hi Gav,
Not sure I've ever seen a precious stone mounted in the tip of a scabbard, but it certainly seems logically done, as evidenced by the appearance here. It seems to me that the use of coral in Ottoman weapons was prevalent in those of thier regions in North Africa, and this would include of course Egypt and brings in the note on the coquettish Mamluks. I keep thinking of the heavily coral studded pistols and swords attributed to North Africa and the littoral towards the Maghreb. I hope somebody can find another example that might tell us more.
All the best,
Jim
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