9th Century Central Asian Sword Excavated in Iran

[Jack Loomes]

This sword has an iron blade and was adorned with gilt-bronze elements on the cross guard and quillon. Parts of its wooden scabbard remain fused to the blade, which also was decorated with gilt-bronze mounts at the center and tip. The form of this sword, with its straight, double-edged blade, seems to be a Central Asian type.

Date: 9th century

Geography: Excavated in Iran, Nishapur

Medium: Iron, wood, gilded bronze

Dimensions: L. 28 1/8 in. (71.5 cm)
W. 1 3/8 in. (3.5 cm)

Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1940

Accession Number: 40.170.168

Provenance: 1939, excavated at Tepe Madrasa in Nishapur, Iran by the Metropolitan Museum of Art's expedition; 1940, acquired by the Museum in the division of finds.

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Arms and Armor from the Islamic World, February 10, 2016–December 3, 2017, no. 54.

Allan, James. Nishapur: Metalwork of the Early Islamic Period. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1982. pp. 108–9, ill. fig. 208 (b/w).

Soucek, Priscilla, ed. Content and Context of Visual Arts in the Islamic World : papers from a colloquium in memory of Richard Ettinghausen, Institute of Fine Arts, New York University.

Monographs on the fine arts, vol. 44. University Park, PA: College Art Association of America, 1988. no. 208, pp. 5, 11, ill. fig. 19 (b/w).

Alexander, David G., and Stuart W. Pyhrr. "in the Metropolitan Museum of Art." In Islamic Arms and Armor. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2015. no. 54, pp. 144–47, ill. (color).

Source: www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/449855