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Originally Posted by ariel
There is a long ( and often pretty vicious) argument about the origins of shashka. The blade is relatively simple: early Circassian blades were mostly European, very light, but later Daghestani ones could be quite heavy.
But the origin of the eared guard-less handle is still a mystery.
My guess is that it stems from the Turkish yataghan ( pure IMHO)
If so, re-fitting Caucasian shashka with an Ottoman crossguard might not have been such an unnatural idea for the owner and exiled Circassians ( muhadjirs) seem to be a natural group for the mix of an old and the new traditions.
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Thank you Ariel, that is most interesting perspective regarding the application of the crossguard on this example, and might explain this 'hybrid' case.
The idea of cleft pommel swords with heavy yataghan type blades were known as well in European units of the late 18th into 19th c which were attuned to the 'pandour' unit concept.
That of course simply notes the instance as an analogy concerning cleft pommel swords, which are indeed not always shashkas.
As you well note here, while unusual, this example could be a melding of old and new traditions and this may have been a shashka after all.