Saber (Kilij) with Scabbard
Hilt, Turkish or North African; blade, Iranian
Not on view
This type of Ottoman saber, with its distinctive curled “pistol grip” and cruciform guard, was used throughout Turkey and North Africa from the eighteenth century. Following Napoleon’s invasion of Egypt in 1798, the type, widely referred to as a “Mamluk” saber, became popular for European and North American officers’ swords and remains in use today. The blade of this example bears the false signature of Haji Sunqur, a legendary swordsmith active in Istanbul in the early sixteenth century.
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