Ethiopian Shotel or Gurade to share

Jim McDougall · 16th October 2022, 09:05 PM

Very nice example of an Ethiopian 'gurade' (SE curved blade) which is of course a 'working' example, very nice to see the great scabbard and belt. The blade is of the British M1796 light cavalry type, but could well be the Blucher N1811 as these are so similar. In both cases these are often unmarked so it is harder to determine, especially from pics.

Apparently it was indeed a practice to dye the rhino horn as it is typically an amber, almost translucent in cases color while darker toward core. It is hard to say what this brass piece is on the pommel area, and unusual to see it so off center.
The older versions of these, and in many cases the shotels would have Maria Theresa thalers on the pommel, these probably acquired in the trade centers where these blades often were arriving through many Armenian merchants in Harar.

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16th October 2022, 09:05 PM	#2
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,189	Very nice example of an Ethiopian 'gurade' (SE curved blade) which is of course a 'working' example, very nice to see the great scabbard and belt. The blade is of the British M1796 light cavalry type, but could well be the Blucher N1811 as these are so similar. In both cases these are often unmarked so it is harder to determine, especially from pics. Apparently it was indeed a practice to dye the rhino horn as it is typically an amber, almost translucent in cases color while darker toward core. It is hard to say what this brass piece is on the pommel area, and unusual to see it so off center. The older versions of these, and in many cases the shotels would have Maria Theresa thalers on the pommel, these probably acquired in the trade centers where these blades often were arriving through many Armenian merchants in Harar.