Original Item: One of a Kind. This was once a very fine curved British officer's mameluke sword, showing the Egyptian influence in the design. It has a black grip with what were once wonderfully gilt mounts. The 27" blade also still shows a relatively clear gilt CROWN / G.R. royal cypher of King George the Third. The sword is 32" in overall length, and comes fully mounted in its own shadow box display case (15" x 40" x 2 ½”). The inside is lined with black felt, and there is a very tarnished brass plaque stating:-

FOUND BY
MERLE FRANKLIN

Information written on the back of the case indicates that Merle Franklin of Dunnville, Ontario, Canada loaned it to “Amity Lodge A.F. & A.M. No. 32 G.R.C.” in Dunnville on the occasion of their 125th Anniversary in 1975. After it was returned it was later sold, and made its way to us.

There is also a small printed may of the battle ground showing in red exactly the location where the sword was recovered. The battle of Chippewa actually took place on July 5th. 1814.

A great battlefield pick up from the war of 1812, ready to research and display!

Specifications:-
Blade Length: 27"
Blade Style: Curved Single Edge
Overall length: 32“
Crossguard: 5 1/2"

A Mameluke sword is a cross-hilted, curved, scimitar-like sword historically derived from sabres used by Mamluk warriors of Mamluk Egypt after whom the sword is named. Egypt was, at least nominally, part of the Ottoman Empire and the sword most commonly used in Egypt was the same as used elsewhere in the empire, the kilij.

The curved sabre was originally of Central Asian Turkic in origin from where the style migrated to the Middle East, Europe, India and North Africa. In Anatolia and the Balkans the sabre developed characteristics that eventually produced the Ottoman kilij. It was adopted in the 19th century by several Western militaries, including the French Army, British Army, Royal Sardinian Army, Royal Italian Army and the United States Marine Corps. Although some genuine Ottoman sabres were used by Westerners, most "mameluke sabres" were manufactured in Europe or America; their hilts were very similar in form to the Ottoman prototype, but their blades tended to be longer, narrower and less curved than those of the true kilij, while being wider and also less curved than the Persian shamshir.

In short, the hilt retained its original shape. but the blade tended to resemble the blade-form typical of contemporary Western military sabres. The Mameluke sword remains the ceremonial side arm for some units to this day.