A rare Ilkhanid steel sword (kilij)
Persia, 13th/14th Century
the single-edged steel blade of curved form with flattened spine, yelman and doubled-edged section towards point, steel crossguard, three pins to tang
97.5 cm. long
Footnotes:
Provenance
The Mohammed Khalil Collection.

Published
The Legacy of Genghis Khan: Courtly Art and Culture in Western Asia, 1256-1353, New York 2002, p.13, fig.7 and p.272, no.136.
M. K. Ibrahim, Islamic Arms and Armour, Vol. I, United Arab Emirates, 2022, p. 491, cat. no. 293.

Exhibited
The Legacy of Genghis Khan: Courtly Art and Culture in Western Asia, 1256-1353, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 5 November 2002 - 16 February 2003.
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 13 April - 27 July 2003.

This rare sword serves as a vital link bridging the gap between the protosabers wielded by Eurasian steppe nomads from the 6th to the 12th Century and the fully developed Western Asian sword forms of the later 15th Century. It was most likely made for a nomadic horseman in Northeastern Iran during the Ilkhanid period (1256-1353).
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