Circassian work, the hilt and scabbard mounts of silver, finely engraved and nielloed on a polished ground, the design emulating the friable silver galloon or braid with which Circassian arms were typically embellished; a characteristic seldom encountered, typical of earlier work. The lightly curved and fullered blade well balanced, with traces of pattern-welded construction. The wooden scabbard covered in textured hide with panels of red velvet, the silver mounts engraved and nielloed en suite with the hilt, with two trapzoidal mounts meeting at the center in “shalvar†configuration. Mid 19th century. Leather and velvet worn. A very similar example belonging to the Caucasian Collection of the State Historical Museum, Moscow, appears in E.G. Astvatsaturian, Weapons of the Caucasian Peoples, St. Petersburg, Atlant Publishers, 2004, p. 258, fig. 2. Overall length 92.2 cm._x000D_
Condition III_x000D_