Scimitar with Scabbard
This sword belongs to a distinctive group of Ottoman parade weapons mounted with gilded silver, studded with turquoise, and set with jeweled nephrite plaques. The group includes swords, shields, quivers, saddles, and related equestrian equipment. These luxurious and colorful pieces were frequently given as diplomatic presents by the Ottoman court from the late sixteenth through the seventeenth century, many of them still preserved in European collections. The saber is now fitted with a later Iranian blade of crucible (“watered”) steel inlaid in gold with the pious motto “I trust in God.”
Artwork Details
- Title: Scimitar with Scabbard
- Date: late 16th–17th century
- Culture: Hilt and scabbard, Turkish; Blade, Iranian
- Medium: Steel, copper alloy (brass), silver, wood, gold, jade, turquoise, copper
- Dimensions: H. with scabbard 42 1/16 in. (106.8 cm); H. without scabbard 40 1/8 in. (101.9 cm); H. of blade 35 in. (88.9 cm); Wt. 4 lb. 4 oz. (1928 g); Wt. of scabbard 2 lb. (906 g)
- Classification: Swords
- Credit Line: Rogers Fund and Pfeiffer Fund, 1978
- Object Number: 1978.145a, b
- Curatorial Department: Arms and Armor
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Turkish
Grip and guard, second half of the 17th century; blade, late 18th–19th century
Turkish, probably Istanbul
1522–66
Turkish, in the style of Turkman armor
late 15th–16th century
Acem Oglu
19th century
Turkish, probably Istanbul
ca. 1560
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