Skip to main content
Turkish Sabre-Kilij
Mameluke Sabre
Turkish Sabre-Kilij
Turkish Sabre-Kilij

Mameluke Sabre

Associated (Aberdeen, Scotland, 1838 - 1902)
Date1831-1900
Object NameSword
Mediumsteel; brass; leather; bone
ClassificationsWeaponry
DimensionsOverall: Length: 94.5 cm
AcquisitionPresented in 1937 by H M Frost.
LocationView by Appointment - Aberdeen Treasure Hub
Object numberABDMS011656
Keywords
About MePlain curved sword in leather and brass sheath, dating to 19th century, owned by Brigadier General Frost Pasha of Turkey. This model combines a Turkish sabre model with apparently a later European-style blade, being known as a hybrid sword called "Mameluke". This type of sabre became very popular for light cavalry officers, in both France and Britain, and became a fashionable sword for senior officers to wear. In 1831, the "Mameluke", became a regulation pattern for British general officers (the 1831 Pattern, still in use today). Although some genuine Turkish kilij sabres were used by Westerners, most "mameluke sabres" were manufactured in Europe; their hilts were very similar in form to the Ottoman prototype; however, their blades - even when an expanded yelman was incorporated - tended to be longer, narrower and less curved than those of the true kilij. Frost Pasha's sword has steel blade with kilij type features and multiple fullers. The bone hilt presents drooping quillons and pistol grip shaped pommel. The leather covered sheath displays a front locket marked with the crescent moon and star. The reverse of the scabbard seems sewn with copper wire.


Dress Sword In Sheath
Brigadier Frost Pasha
1857-1897
Inverbroom Sword
Sub-lieutenant John Russell Stewart Bell
Bronze Age
Carte de Visite - unidentified portrait
George Washington Wilson
1860s
Tsuba: Japanese Sword Guard
Arashiyama Tsuneyuki
Edo Period, 18th Century
Tsuba: Japanese Sword Guard
Tenkôdô Hidekuni
Late Edo Period, possibly 19th century
Tsuba: Japanese Sword Guard
Imai Nagatake
Late Edo Period, 19th century
Bronze Sword
Sub-lieutenant John Russell Stewart Bell
Tsuba: Japanese Sword Guard
Kawarabayashi Hideoki
Late Edo Period, 19th century