A rare Polish sword with finely watered-steel Persian blade signed by Shaghani
Poland, the blade probably Persia, 16th/ 17th Century
the single-edged watered steel blade of curved form with flattened spine, chiselled and decorated in gold overlay with a scrolling tendril forming a roundel filled with a vegetal motif and an inscription, the wood hilt of octagonal section, clad in leather with three white metal mounts to each side, silver pommel
93.2 cm. long
Footnotes:
Provenance
Auctions Imperial, Arms and Armour, 20 March 2011, lot 0088.
The Mohammed Khalil Collection.

Published
M. K. Ibrahim, Islamic Arms and Armour, Vol. I, United Arab Emirates, 2022, p. 484, cat. no. 288.

Inscriptions: amal-i shaghani(?), 'The work of Shaghani'.

This type of sword, with characteristic hilt of octagonal section and three silver mounts was popular among Tatars, Poles and Russians. A sword with a similar hilt with three silver bosses through its grips, attributed to 17th/ 18th Century Poland is in the Royal Armoury, Sweden (Accession No. 7480_LRK). Another with a Persian blade, dated to the late 16th Century, is in the collection at Skokloster Castle, Sweden, and was formerly a possession of John II Casimir Vasa of Poland (6981_sko). A third, with a 15th Century Egyptian blade and 17th Century Eastern European hilt, is at the Royal Armoury, Sweden (Accession No. 7481_LRK). The earlier examples were brought from Poland to Sweden following the Siege of Warsaw in 1656.
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