Afghan Shashkas

[Jim McDougall]

Ariel,
Outstanding display of these fascinating variations of shashkas!! It seems these are seldom ever seen in collections, and there is little on them in most books except Lebedynsky's "Les Armes Orientales" (pp.75-76).
It seems that the Afghans were typically rather large in comparison to most ethnic groups in these regions, so the huge size of these sabres is not surprising. These really are most impressive.

I think it is interesting how the Mongol influence is reflected in the blade features, the peak on the armor piercing point and the almost vestigial yelman on the other.

Thank you so much for posting these together so the comparisons can be seen and the key features on the Afghan examples shown.

It seems to me that Georgia, one of the key regions of the Caucusus, is not typically associated with using the shashka, except for the distinctly identified Mingrelian versions with dramatically canted hilts (anybody out there have a photo of one of these with the skirted scabbard?)
Do you know of Georgian examples of the traditional shashka form and is there any particular identifying characteristic about them?

Once again Ariel, thank you for sharing these excellent examples !!!

All the best,
Jim