With sharp tapering double-edged blade of flattened diamond section, iron hilt with pointed projection over each side of the forte and secured by a transverse rivet, upcurved guard of ovoidal form, globular pommel on a scrolled mount, and ribbed grip of circular section with central moulding (surface rust and light pitting overall). 76 cm blade.
Josiah William Gordon | @josiahwg
19th century Indian sabre
by the way if you miss art-of-swords, reddit user archnila compiled a zip file of all the images on the blog before it was deleted:
heads up though, it’s 1.5gb! there also aren’t any sources any more, but if you reverse image search you should be able to find the sources pretty easily.
Yes, it’s a shame that art-of-swords is no more, but there are still a lot of great tumblr blogs that post about swords (and other arms and armor, HEMA, and general history topics). You should follow them!
****This is not an exhaustive list.****
Can you tell me what a scimitar is?
A scimitar is a catch-all term for curved swords from the Middle East. Wikipedia has a good article on the possible origin of the word. The term was even used to describe deeply curved Western swords, such as the British Pattern 1796 Light Cavalry Sword. Today the popular image of a scimitar is something like this:
The CAS Iberia scimitar pictured above is purely fantasy and is not a replica of an actual historical example. The shamshir and kilij are the historical sword forms that are closest to the pop culture version of a scimitar. We could probably include other sword types such as the tulwar, pulwar, and nimcha.
Presentation Kiliç Sword
The nielloed silver moutns are typical of Ottoman weapons, although the use of lapis lazuli are rare. The straight European blade suggests that this cavalry weapon was carried in addition to the more usual curved saber. Pairs of weapons with straight and curved blades were common in eastern Europe in the seventeenth century.
Source: Copyright © 2017 The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Presentation Kiliç Sword
The nielloed silver moutns are typical of Ottoman weapons, although the use of lapis lazuli are rare. The straight European blade suggests that this cavalry weapon was carried in addition to the more usual curved saber. Pairs of weapons with straight and curved blades were common in eastern Europe in the seventeenth century.
Source: Copyright © 2017 The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Vietnamese Sword
Source: Copyright © 2017 Historical Arms & Armor
All the gods of myth and legend are real, but having your prayers answered depends on discovering which god can hear you. You figured out which god is listening to your prayers, but they’re not what you expected.
Suzy was dissapointed. Most people her age had discovered their deity so far, and she was starting to think she was godless. She turned the next page of McBayers’ Little Book of Deities, and tried reading their names aloud to see if she’d get a reaction. It had taken her weeks just to get through Chinese spirits and deities, and had finally reached the first page of Egyptian Gods and you.
“Ammit? Amun? Anhur?” Nothing. Her heart slowly sank again. Three more tries, and she’d stop for now.
“Anubis?”
The ground shook. The lights in Suzy’s room flickered and went out. A single flame hovered in the middle of the room, and as it grew to a blaze it changed form. Within the blink of an eye, there was a tall figure standing in Suzy’s room. The body of a man, and the head of a jackal. His eyes shone bright as he peered at her.
WHAT IS IT, SUZY OF THE HOUSE MILLER?
“You’re the deity that answers my prayers?”
INDEED. I, ANUBIS, WHO RULES OVER THE LAND OF THE DEAD, IS HERE TO ANSWER YOUR REQUESTS.
Suzy thought for a moment. “O great and mighty Anubis who rules over the afterlife, can I please have a puppy?”
Anubis seemed taken aback.
IN THE CENTURIES THAT I HAVE BEEN PRAYED TO, THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I HAVE BEEN REQUESTED SOMETHING LIKE THIS. CHILD, HOW OLD ARE YOU?
“I’m eight and a half. My mommy says that if I can take care of a puppy, I can keep it.”
ARE YOU CERTAIN YOU DO NOT WISH FOR ME TO BRING PLAGUES UPON YOUR ENEMIES OR WEIGH A SOUL FOR YOU?
Suzy shook her head. “I want a puppy.”
CHILD, IN TRUTH THIS WISH I CANNOT GRANT. MY JOB HAS BEEN TO BRING PEACE AND LEAD SOULS INTO THE AFTERLIFE, NOTHING MORE. IF I WERE TO CREATE A HOUND FOR YOU, IT WOULD BE FORMED OF BONE AND SOUL ALONE.
Suzy thought for a second. She would have liked to have a nice fluffy puppy, but then she remembered how Aunt Marge’s Sphinx cat was still nice, even without fur.
“No fur is fine, as long as they don’t bite and make a mess.”
Anubis nodded, and raised a hand. Underneath his palm an intricate symbol appeared on the floor. It glowed bright, and the floorboards burst apart. Up sprang a massive skeletal dog, bigger than suzy herself. Its eye sockets held blue flame, and its jaw hang partly open in a perpetual grin. It slowly walked over to Suzy and nuzzled her.
“What does it eat?”
IT WILL NOT NEED SUSTENANCE, AND WANTS NOTHING MORE THAN TO SERVE ITS NEW MASTER. I HOPE THIS WILL SUFFICE.”
“I love it. Thank you, Anubis.”
Anubis looked slightly taken aback, but nodded peacefully.
FAREWELL FOR NOW, SUZY OF THE MILLERS. IF YOU EVER NEED ANYTHING ELSE YOU HAVE BUT TO ASK ME.
Suzy nodded, and ran over to her parents’ room to show them her new dog. She was pretty sure they couldn’t object to this pet.
A part 2,since this got some people interested.
Part 3, due to popular request.
Shamshir Sword
This Omani Shamshir sword from the mid 19th century, has possibly an earlier Wootz Damascus blade. The sword is housed in its the original silver scabbard (wood lined), which is intricately chased over its entire surface, with some applied silver at the throat, and two suspension rings.
The blade, as stated, is possibly earlier than 19th century, forged from Damascus steel, with beautiful visual watering throughout. The hilt is of typical Arab Shamshir form, with two applied patches of gold on the cross-guard. The two piece grips are bone, with silver wire wrap, bolster straps, and a long pommel.
Source: Copyright © 2017 Akaal Arms
Kindjal Dagger
The hilt of the dagger features ivory scale to the front and horn to the rear. The weapon is fitted with a double-edged blade with double fullers in red velvet covered wood scabbard with niello mounts.
Source: Copyright © 2017 Peter Finer
Pedang Sword
The undulated, pamor blade is ribbed and double-edged toward the tip and straight and single-edged on the remaining length with two fullers near the central chiselling picturing two, woven, long dragon’s tails. The tails of the dragons is separating at the base and create the body of two monsters with gilded eyes surmounted by gilded crowns. The wooden scabbard is covered with a bas-relieved brass sheet picturing floral and geometrical motifs and also features brass-sheet covering decorated en suite with the sword.
Source: Copyright © 2017 Invaluable
Saif Sword
The hilt of the sword is mounted with a large silver pommel cap, and a silver cross guard and collar, with a chain linking the two. The blade is a high quality, polished, European example. It has a single spine fuller, and a copper inlaid ‘dot’ near the hilt.
The original scabbard looks very Indian, and perhaps suggests that this is an Indo-Arab sword. It is covered in green velvet, with a pierced silver suspension loop, and a copper chape with traces of silver.
Sidenotes:
Source: Copyright © 2017 Akaal Arms
Ube Coconut Ice Cream Ingredients needed: 2 ¼ cup cashew milk, frozen 1 ½ cup cashews ½ cup water ½ cup blueberries ¼ cup coconut cream 2 tbsp ube powder (purple yam that has been grated and dehydrated into a powder) 1 frozen banana 1 tbsp coconut oil 1 tsp vanilla extract Borage flowers (to garnish) Preparation: Add cashews and water in food processor and blend until smooth. Add banana and cashew milk and blend until smooth. I froze the cashew milk beforehand so that it would have a thicker texture. Add vanilla extract, coconut oil, ube powder, and blueberries. Blend until the mixture turns a light purple tint. Ready to serve. If you would like your ice cream to be more solid, store it in the freezer for several hours or as needed. I poured mine into a cake pop pan and left it in the freezer overnight. In the morning, I left it out for 10 minutes, scooped it out into a bowl, and garnished with borage. What is Ube? Ube is a root vegetable that is native to the Philippines. It is a bright purple color, and its relatives are taro and the Okinawa sweet potato. It is sometimes referred to as “purple yam.” In Filipino culture, ube is often used to make sweets and desserts. Ube has been around for many millennia and has been used throughout time as a laxative, treatment for fevers, hemorrhoids, gonorrhea, leprosy, and tumors, and a way to rid parasitic worms from the body.
Kiliç Sword
The sword feature a wide, single-and false-edged blade with wide fuller, engraved and gilt on blue ground with Umberto I, Savoy coat of arms and floral motifs at the first part. The Oriental, white, metallic hilt has horn grip scales, while the wooden scabbard is covered in leather and engraved.
Source: Copyright © 2016 Czerny’s International Auction House S.R.L.
