EL6191 - An Ottoman Empire officer's sword (kilij) featuring a multi-fullered blade with flared yelman and 'mameluke' style hilt. The blade is in beautiful condition and may be older than the hilt and scabbard. The hilt and scabbard are probably late-19th century, while the blade could be up to 100 years older. The blade, in bright satin polish, features etched and gilded designs, including script, crescent and stars, and a hussar or mamluk figure. There is a bit of movement between the blade and hilt and some careful restoration should include the reintroduction of some adhesive filler at the hilt opening to prevent this. The grip is made of horn, the guard appears to be a white metal alloy which has be purposely blackened, and the backstrap is of a coarse type of iron (meteoric?). The steel scabbard is of a military type and was obviously made to go with this sword in the late-19th or early-20th century, though I suspect was not the first scabbard this blade lived in (Ottoman sabres of this type usually having wood and leather scabbards). A very interesting and attractive sword - I have not been able to find another comparative example. Restoration and research potential.
