Translation Assistance on Ottoman sword

Philip · 25th October 2006, 02:55 AM

Hey, Rick
The round cartouche contains the inscription "put thy trust in God". On all the inscriptions, the style of writing is called "kufic", it's an early form of written Arabic in which the letters are extremely angular. Rather similar to the archaic "seal script" of Chinese. Both are popular to this day for decorative purposes, but they're damn hard to read!

I'll try and take a stab (no pun intended) at the other ones, but it ain't going to be easy. If there are any Islamic scholars or art history professors who specialize in the Middle East, please help us out!

Say, bud, haven't I seen this sword before?

25th October 2006, 02:55 AM	#4
Philip Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: California Posts: 1,036	in the cartouche Hey, Rick The round cartouche contains the inscription "put thy trust in God". On all the inscriptions, the style of writing is called "kufic", it's an early form of written Arabic in which the letters are extremely angular. Rather similar to the archaic "seal script" of Chinese. Both are popular to this day for decorative purposes, but they're damn hard to read! I'll try and take a stab (no pun intended) at the other ones, but it ain't going to be easy. If there are any Islamic scholars or art history professors who specialize in the Middle East, please help us out! Say, bud, haven't I seen this sword before?

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