Anglo-Arabic sword with unclear dedication

[Magey_McMage]

Hello, I hope everyone is doing well. A bit unsure where to place this sword, but as it is a European form, I feel this is the best place. Apologies for the photos, they were given to me by the current owner/seller and are all I have to work with.

Earlier this year I came across an unusual British pattern 1892 sword. Even without the mysteries below, it is in extremely good condition for the price I paid. It is mine as soon as I can arrange its shipping from NZ. So far, I have not gotten very far in the research.

Why is it unusual?

-The 1892 pattern was only in usage from 1892-1895 broadly. And since officers were not obliged to buy a new sword that utilized the same type of hilt, many did not. It is the least common pattern of sword. Off topic, but you actually see a larger amount of 1845-95s, in which officers who were obliged to upgrade the hilt simply rebladed their current sword and didn't even bother with changing to an 1897 hilt

-Both the blade and the guard have a customized Arabic script, identical on both. Custom etchings on blades are quite common, but I have seen relatively few customized brass guards. Variations for general officers and for other nations are observed, but as I will get into later, the plate here does not appear to be indicative of a specific unit affiliation or monarch.

-The sword or at least the final assembly was made by Pillin, but retailed by Hobson & Sons. The specific address was in usage from 1886-1901, which is within the bounds of the pattern. While some customized swords were purchased from tailoring outfitters such as Hawkes or Hamburger, Rogers & Co with strong military affiliation, it is unusual that one simultaneously not unusually fancy but is unusually different wrt a custom plate, appears to have been ordered from a tailoring outfitter instead of going directly to the cutler. I am unsure if Pillin ever had a storefront location like Wilkinson where well heeled individuals could get very custom things.

-At some point, someone with an engraver chiseled out "Translation: Huthmath, a servant of God"

What does the engraving even say?

That is the part I am trying to understand. After slowly bouncing around finding polite ways to ask people "does this look like Arabic to you?" without sounding racist, I ended up emailing my college professor of Islamic history. Turns out I had translated the date at the bottom wrong. The date is 1307 in the Hijri dating system. This roughly correlates to 1889-1890 in the Gregorian system.

So we can assume that the sword post-dates the reason the sword was commissioned.

According to my professor, most of the text translates to "Hamd Sa’id Ahmad bin al-A’ali (the highest)" and potentially something like 'shaykh,' as he was unable to fully translate it. According to him, the format of the naming is close to Omani naming conventions. As of my scant research, Faisal bin Turki bin Said Al Busaidi was the ruler of Oman at this time, taking control in 1888. I have had no luck finding anyone of the name on the guard and blade.

My questions or goal are to solve:

1. What is the 100% correct translation of the guard and blade
2. Who is the individual mentioned on the guard and blade
3. What or why is Huthmath?

Further more, even if I am able to find someone who can fully translate the text on the guard or the blade, I have found no sort of provenance. I am well and truly stumped here. If you have any suggestions or advice, I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you!

[Peter Hudson]

Well well well!!!!, Yes its Arabic and likely to be of Omani provenance. I was in the Omani Army for 10 years and I can tell you that this sword is well worth looking at and researching ...Pillin is one of the better sword makers. The wording is peculiar and may just be a complete error, thus the english word TRANSLATION appears. You might get some sense out of The National Museum of Oman in Muscat... or even by contacting your Embassy and they might play ball and forward your request ...With a date mark on the blade plus the maker...are there any numbers on the blade on the back edge near the hilt ? Just a wild guess I would say a high ranking official purchased this ...in London... and it may be traced to either a high ranking Officer or dignatory of some stature...Either that or it could be some sort of gift from one country to another...ie to or from Oman who knows?
I am just about to get busy with pictures and research on British Infantry Officers Swords of the 19th C ...Please see British Infantry Officers Battle Swords in the 19th C...and up to 1914 this is essentially a variant of one of these... I would be delighted to see this placed on that thread in addition... Many thanks for showing this one to Forum.
Regards,
Peter Hudson.

Note; I agree that this sword probably joined the system in the Reign of Faisal the Ruler from 1888.

Faisal bin Turki
فيصل بن تركي
8 June 1864 –
5 October 1913 (aged 49)
Ruler from 4 June 1888
To. 5 October 1913
Son of Turki bin Said Busaid Faisal bin Turki

[Jim McDougall]

Excellent and well informed input Peter, as would be expected with your remarkable field experience in Oman, and I can see why this amazing sword piqued your interest. This is a fascinating example, and well presented by Magey with impressive research and background already set forward.

As already noted, there was a considerable network of cutlers and military outfitters in London that had evolved through the 19th century who often tailored officers weapons on the commissions placed. With Great Britain's profound colonial presence in various spheres, there were cases of some of these having outlet offices in locations in India, Egypt and in Arabia, where the British Protectorate was centered in Aden, if I understand correctly.

Wilkinson has been well known as having been most accommodating customers and clients with customized hilts and engraved blades, which in some cases were in other languages, though unusual. With the retailer/outfitter noted situated in London, it seems likely the present incarnation of the sword in entirety was also completed there.

The sword was apparently updated at some point with translation engraved by other than a sword outfitting location, so probably by a jeweler and for the owner at the time.

The hilt is of what is known as the 'Gothic' style, which was introduced actually in 1822( I believe) for infantry officers and of course in brass. The same pattern continued and was altered in 1845 (again if I recall) to add a folding inner guard portion. Magey has well researched this pattern evolution already, so mentions the intricacies of some of the nominal alterations in the style, which was superceded in 1897 by the sheet steel guard forms.
As noted, officers had a degree of latitude in their choice of weapons, especially those with long service who held to their traditions.

These 'gothic' style hilts were often made for other colonial interests by Wilkinson, with various emblems, cyphers and monograms as required for other countries and their militaries, so while unusual, not surprising to see a customized hilt made on request as seen here.

The overall character of the sword with these inscriptions in Arabic (but as noted apparently following Omani convention) suggests this sword may have been diplomatically oriented, and possibly of course related to the Aden based protectorate in Arabia. Naturally, the details of this situation are the somewhat perplexing conundrum of this outstanding sword, so I look forward to further research!

Thank you Magey for posting this, and Peter for your valuable input!!

[Magey_McMage]

Hi Peter, thank you so much for the reply!

I have tried to contact museums before and generally have little to no luck. I will share, as a gift to the forum for all the help I have received so immediately, one of the rarest or most unusual things I possess, an extremely unusual Italian 1855 blade. I had won it from Czernys and reached out to multiple Italian museums for any advice but never received any feedback. It is, in all dimensional measurements, almost perfectly 1.5x the size of a standard 1855. It has a 121cm blade that is ~45mm wide and about 12-13mm thick. It weighs around 2150 grams, or about 4.8lbs. Made by a Solingen blade factory like most Italian blades were. It is engraved, not acid etched, but that is common for a lot of Italian swords as well. The sword featured for comparison is a slightly irregular 1855 with an 84cm blade more in an Anglo-Austrian type of grind. The sword has been heat treated and there is a nice spring tempter to it. It so far is my ultimate Mystery Sword to uncover. I am tempted to commission a proportional guard, grip, and backstrap/pommel, albeit grips were usually ebony and the cost would be high. The other thing I have long been tempted to do is extend the tang another 5-8cm out, still have a grip made, but have a complex hilt made and have the mother of all "swiss sabres." Just as a physical piece of steel, the length and thickness of the blade is so massive you could make multiple regular sized swords from it.

Apologies, that became off topic quite quickly, I simply wanted to share an example of one I have attempted to research via museum previously that so far has no results. I will go ahead and begin to research various museums alongside potential domestic (US) academics that may have a focus in this area as well. Should I find any further information I will be sure to let you know. I have loved finding other unusual cross-cultural swords from older threads, the Tulwar with the hybrid tulwar/gothic hilt with an elephant where the VR Cypher would go has been one of the coolest damned swords I have ever seen. It is quite sad how we can find notes and drawings in Wilkinson Patterns & Blade Rubs on all manner of specially made swords for kings and foreign armies, brief descriptors on unusual blades or experimental hilts, but so little of it survives through today. I can only hope that there are others hidden away in private collections that may one day be cataloged and photographed for public knowledge.

I am still on double secret probation and my replies do need to be reviewed first before posting, but I will either link to the thread you mentioned, or copy the text and images over there. Most of my British and French collection so far has been focused on 2 things. #1 is simply to posses at least 1 of every standard regulation pattern (albeit the nicer options) just as a baseline. #2, like the sword that is the focus of this thread, is to find the unusual items. I am quite fond of patent solid hilts. I am well aware of the claims of them being "extra" durable is likely marketing, but in a way that is hard to explain online, the extra mass in the hand and a wider and thicker blade at the ricasso (not always, I've 2 infantry patent hilts and 1 cavalry patent hilt that have wider but thinner blades at the ricasso) allows for a cutler to shape the feeling of the sword with a greater degree of freedom. And THAT is why they are better, in my opinion. They feel livelier in the hand. Regardless, I have been pushing to find non-regulation sabres, especially officer sabres, for my own niche focus. The French, like I mentioned in the other British sword thread, had some truly wonderful designs that pre-date the 1882 pattern infantry sword. The massive one I linked, with a flattened diamond 950x35x8mm blade is my favorite handling sword I own. The balance of it is sublime in the hand, it feels regal, like a knight's lance. I am attempting to flesh out these non regulation swords more with a focus specifically on how they handle. In a time when you had both centuries of skilled-trade craftsmanship but also the advent of the industrial revolution, combining machinery with man and mathematics and science and numbers with tradition, this era of swords interests me the most. Laboratories and tests to find the most perfectly optimized swords. And in that era, when they had things down to exact sciences, people STILL chose deliberately non regulation swords. It is those swords, and why they chose them, that interests me the most.

Some were fashion trends, such as the Royal Navy liking shorter claymore blades, or French infantry officers and Toledo pattern blades. But when the Wilkinson ledger has an officer make specific requests, there is something deliberate there, something they thought would make for a better sword. I dont believe there is ever 1 perfect sword out there, and there is no thesis statement of mine that shakes up the antique sword academic world (beyond Patent Hilts feeling more lively in the hand == a better sword by ease of handling), but I want to have a large enough collection that I can point to general unusual trends and deviations and find what works and what doesn't work on the subjective grading of my own tastes.

Or, in other words, I collect the swords I think I would enjoy using the most.

Most of my long write-ups are on the IASC facebook group if only because that tends to be the spot where the majority of British sword discussion occurs (and it is easy to make a quick upload of text and photos), I do have many other unusual British sabres or ones of unique provenance such as this 1892. To link it again, https://sbg-sword-forum.forums.net/t...sword-showcase is the state of my collection as of ~2.5 years ago now. The British, French, and Italian fields are really the only ones that have grown significantly since so many items are not photographed there. But if there are any listed there that you would like more photos and information on, please do not hesitate to let me know, thank you!

[toaster5sqn]

Jim,
I believe you may have a detail backwards, it's my understanding that the folding guard was the standard option in 1822 with the stronger solid guard becoming standard in 1845. However the alternative was always an option in both cases so you can find examples of each over the entire service life of the gothic hilt.

Robert

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by toaster5sqn

Jim,
I believe you may have a detail backwards, it's my understanding that the folding guard was the standard option in 1822 with the stronger solid guard becoming standard in 1845. However the alternative was always an option in both cases so you can find examples of each over the entire service life of the gothic hilt.

Robert

Thank you for that correction Robert! I did indeed get it backwards not unusual more often these days I fear.

[Magey_McMage]

Originally Posted by Jim McDougall

Thank you for that correction Robert! I did indeed get it backwards not unusual more often these days I fear.

As a fun point of interest, I won this sword mid november. A Pillin (maybe) patent solid hilt retailed by Robert S Garden of Piccadilly somewhere in the 1860s or 1870s. I say maybe as despite the fancy P proof disc and owning multiple Pillin patent solid hilts, I think there is some uncertainty or debate on whether or not the patent hilt blades were made by a white label maker such as Solingen or Birmingham. Regardless, Garden was one of the top outfitters, especially for the most adventurous officers and explorers heading to Africa and India with fine firearms.

But to get to the point, you can see what is the remnants of a folding guard there which is extremely uncommon both for a patent solid hilt and a sword made in the 'middle' Victorian era, with the pin slot and a broken leaf spring exposed. I am unsure on what, if anything, I can do to fix this one but hoping the assembly is threaded like some patent hilts so I can disassemble it. From there, a new hilt (with a folding guard) would be a matter of filing the new slot for the blade to be wider and seeing if the original backstrap would slot nicely. Maybe some mild bending work. Otherwise I would need to at least find a spare folding section or commission a new one and try and find someone who could grind off the broken pin slot and maybe braze on a new one? I don't usually endorse full modifications or defacing antiques but I believe in functionality and fixing broken things and this might be a learning process that may pay off in the future.

I have not researched the officer yet but there are initials, 3 or 4 of them but it is a lot of vertical and diagonal lines and I am unsure who it may belong to. WNR is my strongest guess.

[Will M]

I would not recommend replacing the guard on this Garden patent hilt.
Only a dozen or so Gardens are known.
Disassembly always raises questions of originality and can devalue swords.
An operational folding guard isn't necessary to a display sword.
I have a Garden patent hilt sword and the VR appears to be shot out and I do not plan on replacing the guard. Likely the officer left it as is because of the history behind the damage.
The number on the blade spine is 405, is yours numbered?

[Magey_McMage]

Originally Posted by Will M

I would not recommend replacing the guard on this Garden patent hilt.
Only a dozen or so Gardens are known.
Disassembly always raises questions of originality and can devalue swords.
An operational folding guard isn't necessary to a display sword.
I have a Garden patent hilt sword and the VR appears to be shot out and I do not plan on replacing the guard. Likely the officer left it as is because of the history behind the damage.
The number on the blade spine is 405, is yours numbered?

I believe so, only inasmuch as 1 of the phots of the flat is just angled enough that I can see indents on the spine indicative of some numbering. That is quite a long ricasso on your example! Am I mistaken or do the longer narrower ricassos tend to be associated with the Solingen trade blades? I know many makers used imported blades but the exact specifics on who actually produced the patent solid officer blades has always been a murkier area.

Good to see you on here, have not seen you on Facebook for a spell, glad to see you are doing well!