Ethiopian swords

Jim McDougall · 4th December 2018, 07:09 PM

Welcome to the forum!
You came to the right place! most of the entries online often end up bringing the queries here at one point or another.

These two swords (very nice BTW) are indeed Ethiopian.
The one with the lionhead is a stirrup hilt sword of military type and appears to be Italian. These seem to be from the 1890s going by the George V blade, which is extremely nice by Wilkinson, who was of course in London and supplying blades to Abyssinia (Ethiopia) in these times.
The sword itself is termed a shotel, and the distinctive hilt was typically of rhino horn. The enthusiasts here are better at determining what type of horn this is but probably rhino.

These were turbulent times in Abyssinia with the Italian occupation and the Mahdist campaigns going on in adjacent Sudan with British forces.

4th December 2018, 07:09 PM	#2
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,189	Welcome to the forum! You came to the right place! most of the entries online often end up bringing the queries here at one point or another. These two swords (very nice BTW) are indeed Ethiopian. The one with the lionhead is a stirrup hilt sword of military type and appears to be Italian. These seem to be from the 1890s going by the George V blade, which is extremely nice by Wilkinson, who was of course in London and supplying blades to Abyssinia (Ethiopia) in these times. The sword itself is termed a shotel, and the distinctive hilt was typically of rhino horn. The enthusiasts here are better at determining what type of horn this is but probably rhino. These were turbulent times in Abyssinia with the Italian occupation and the Mahdist campaigns going on in adjacent Sudan with British forces.