19thc Syrian Saif with European blade

harrywagner · 5th March 2016, 06:19 PM

It has been an interesting week for me as a collector. I was fortunate enough to find this "must have" item that appears complete and was within my budget. I think it looks like the sword in figure 2.6, page 12, of Dr. Elgood's "Arms and Armour of Arabia...". I am hoping it is a 19thc Syrian Saif with a European blade. The scabbard is well-worn leather over wood. The mounts are blackened steel decorated with silver koftgari in the form of geometric patterns and two (as yet untranslated) Arabic quotes. The cross guard is decorated with gold koftgari (at least I think it is gold), much of which has worn off over time.The blade has a single wide fuller that runs from the forte to approximately two thirds the length of the blade on both sides. It has some condition issues but nothing I can't fix or live with. Here are the dimensions:

LOA: 36" LOB 30.5"

I am hoping that someone here can confirm that this is what I think it is. I am often wrong and have bee fooled many times. TIA!

Harry

5th March 2016, 06:19 PM	#1
harrywagner Member Join Date: Jul 2015 Posts: 373	19thc Syrian Saif with European blade It has been an interesting week for me as a collector. I was fortunate enough to find this "must have" item that appears complete and was within my budget. I think it looks like the sword in figure 2.6, page 12, of Dr. Elgood's "Arms and Armour of Arabia...". I am hoping it is a 19thc Syrian Saif with a European blade. The scabbard is well-worn leather over wood. The mounts are blackened steel decorated with silver koftgari in the form of geometric patterns and two (as yet untranslated) Arabic quotes. The cross guard is decorated with gold koftgari (at least I think it is gold), much of which has worn off over time.The blade has a single wide fuller that runs from the forte to approximately two thirds the length of the blade on both sides. It has some condition issues but nothing I can't fix or live with. Here are the dimensions: LOA: 36" LOB 30.5" I am hoping that someone here can confirm that this is what I think it is. I am often wrong and have bee fooled many times. TIA! Harry Attached Images