2011.521: Saber blade inscribed by Asad Allah
Weapons and Ammunition
This object does not yet have a description.
Identification and Creation
- Object Number
- 2011.521
- People
-
Signed by Asad Allah
- Title
- Saber blade inscribed by Asad Allah
- Classification
- Weapons and Ammunition
- Work Type
- sword
- Date
- 17th century
- Places
- Creation Place: Middle East, Iran, Isfahan
- Period
- Safavid period
- Culture
- Persian
- Persistent Link
- https://hvrd.art/o/215274
Physical Descriptions
- Medium
- Watered steel with gold inlay
- Dimensions
- 99.3 cm (39 1/8 in.)
- Inscriptions and Marks
-
- inscription: Inscription on the blade reads “‘Abbas, servant of the King of Holiness [i.e. ‘Ali]. Work of Asad Allah.”
Provenance
- Recorded Ownership History
-
Stuart Cary Welch, Jr., Warner, New Hampshire (by 1989-2008), by inheritance; to Edith I. Welch, Warner, New Hampshire (2008-2011), gift; to Harvard Art Museums 2011.
Acquisition and Rights
- Credit Line
- Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, The Stuart Cary Welch Collection, Gift of Edith I. Welch in memory of Stuart Cary Welch
- Accession Year
- 2011
- Object Number
- 2011.521
- Division
- Asian and Mediterranean Art
- Contact
- am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
- Permissions
-
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Descriptions
- Description
- This curving, single-edged blade was made for a saber. From the shape of the tang, it is likely that the missing pommel was pistol-shaped. The blade exhibits a watered steel pattern, which was acid etched to bring out the color contrasts of the various components of the steel. A small gold cartouche near the base of this sword blade contains the signature of Asad Allah of Isfahan. A larger inscription on the blade reads: “The servant of the dominion of Shah `Abbas.”
Publication History
- Melanie Michailidis, Glory and Prosperity: Metalwork of the Islamic World, brochure, ed. Marsha Pomerantz, Harvard University Art Museums (2002), p. 7, fig. 9
Exhibition History
- Islamic Art: The Power of Pattern, Harvard University Art Museums, Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 09/23/1989 - 01/17/1990
- Shadows of God On Earth: Arts of the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal Dynasties, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 06/21/1997 - 08/31/1997
- From Rhubarb to Rubies: European Travelers to Safavid Iran, 1550-1700, Houghton Library, Cambridge, 05/08/2008 - 08/20/2008
Verification Level
This record was created from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator; it may be inaccurate or incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu