[Drabant1701]

I got this Indian shamshir not to long a ago. Its heavy (over 900grams) and 93cm long. I would guess it is ca 1800 and that the fittings are the original ones.

The blade appears to be persian and is made of good high contrast wootz. It is has a magic square and is signed assadullah isifani i think, I would rather it was signed something else since its the most used and least informative signare there can be on a blade.

Grip is leather on wood with gold applied over it, the end piece is missing on both sides so either it had a metal end piece or the wood extended all the way and has come lose. This seem to be a less common type of grip in India and I would not say it was an Indian sword based just on the grip.

But the crossguard is clearly made in India, it is gold over copper with flowers punched into the material. Almost all the gold is gone, I imagine the gold layer was very thin so that the flower would still show through. I would think its made in north India, Kutch has a lot of gold on copper with flowers attributed to it.

Its to bad that the condition is not so good and that the grip is damage and the scabbard is missing. I would have love to see it in its pride.

Any additional informations and or/and corrections of my assumptions would be greatly appreciated.