Mysterious Afghan Military Sabre

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by Sakalord364

I had thought that some modern bazaar dealer who originally sold this sword installed those hasty brass repair strips on the scabbard, but it seems it was done at least a century ago correct?

That would be a good assumption ideally, but in the volatile tribal regions in Afghanistan, local artisans busily refurbish and repurpose weaponry constantly as they have for centuries. It is true that items that end up in the bazaars (i.e. Chicken Street) up to modern times reflect a lot of such innovation, but many may have actually been in use by tribesmen prior to arriving there.

As noted, these swords are not 'old' in arms collecting parlance as we are used to, but they were still using swords in warfare well into 20th century. These scabbards had wood inserts and would be subject to cracking etc. (mine has lost most of the already replaced leather) so even with newer leather cover, these bands probably were to secure the wood if damaged.

This example seems likely to be from the period around 3rd Afghan war (1919+) and probably refurbished any number of times over the years. With ethnographic weaponry, especially from these regions, it is more about the 'exotica' and turbulent history of these regions, the warriors and their arms, than age.