A fine Safavid kirk narduban watered-steel sword (shamshir) signed by...
A fine Safavid kirk narduban watered-steel sword (shamshir) signed by Akbar bin Mulla Sadiq Isfahani
Persia, the blade 17th/ 18th Century
the single-edged watered-steel blade of curved form with yelman, finely watered with kirk narduban or Jacob's ladder pattern, engraved to the forte to one side with a line of inscription, a cartouche containing further inscription, and a magic square, the later hilt with horn pistol grips, steel backstrap and cross-guard, decorated in gold overlay with foliate scrollwork, the wood scabbard clad in black leather with gold-overlaid steel mounts decorated en suite, with two suspension loops
91 cm. long
Provenance
The Mohammed Khalil Collection.
Published
M. K. Ibrahim, Islamic Arms and Armour, Vol. II, United Arab Emirates, 2022, p. 821, cat. no. 675.
Inscriptions: banda-yi al-i muhammad shahdad(?) ya 'ali adrikni, 'Slave of the family of Muhammad Shahdad(?). O 'Ali reach me (with your help).' Followed by Qur'an 61 (al-Saff), vs. 13, in part; in the cartouche, amal-i akbar bin mulla sadiq isfahani, 'The work of Akbar bin Mulla Sadiq Isfahani'; in the magic square, the talismanic name buduh.
The finely watered-steel blade of the present lot exhibits the sought after Kirk Narduban, or Jacob's ladder, pattern characterised by transversely oriented distortions of the pattern called 'steps'. Carrying such a blade would be of particular significance to a Muslim warrior who would see the ladder as a symbolic vehicle for entry into paradise should he fall in battle. For a further discussion on the pattern see Leo S. Figiel, On Damascus Steel, Atlantis, 1991, pp. 70-71. For an example of an early 18th century shamshir with comparable patterning sold at Sotheby's, see Arts of the Islamic World & India including Fine Rugs and Carpets, 30 March 2022, lot 123. For a shamshir bearing the same maker's name and talismanic magic square sold in these rooms, see The Jacques Desenfans Collection, 10 April 2008, lot 208.
Bid on this lot
A fine Safavid kirk narduban watered-steel sword (shamshir) signed by Akbar bin Mulla Sadiq Isfahani
Persia, the blade 17th/ 18th Century
the single-edged watered-steel blade of curved form with yelman, finely watered with kirk narduban or Jacob's ladder pattern, engraved to the forte to one side with a line of inscription, a cartouche containing further inscription, and a magic square, the later hilt with horn pistol grips, steel backstrap and cross-guard, decorated in gold overlay with foliate scrollwork, the wood scabbard clad in black leather with gold-overlaid steel mounts decorated en suite, with two suspension loops
91 cm. long
Provenance
The Mohammed Khalil Collection.
Published
M. K. Ibrahim, Islamic Arms and Armour, Vol. II, United Arab Emirates, 2022, p. 821, cat. no. 675.
Inscriptions: banda-yi al-i muhammad shahdad(?) ya 'ali adrikni, 'Slave of the family of Muhammad Shahdad(?). O 'Ali reach me (with your help).' Followed by Qur'an 61 (al-Saff), vs. 13, in part; in the cartouche, amal-i akbar bin mulla sadiq isfahani, 'The work of Akbar bin Mulla Sadiq Isfahani'; in the magic square, the talismanic name buduh.
The finely watered-steel blade of the present lot exhibits the sought after Kirk Narduban, or Jacob's ladder, pattern characterised by transversely oriented distortions of the pattern called 'steps'. Carrying such a blade would be of particular significance to a Muslim warrior who would see the ladder as a symbolic vehicle for entry into paradise should he fall in battle. For a further discussion on the pattern see Leo S. Figiel, On Damascus Steel, Atlantis, 1991, pp. 70-71. For an example of an early 18th century shamshir with comparable patterning sold at Sotheby's, see Arts of the Islamic World & India including Fine Rugs and Carpets, 30 March 2022, lot 123. For a shamshir bearing the same maker's name and talismanic magic square sold in these rooms, see The Jacques Desenfans Collection, 10 April 2008, lot 208.
