SIGNED 'ASADULLAH, IRAN, 17TH OR EARLY 18TH CENTURY

The cartouche on this blade attributes its manufacture to the most highly regarded maker of watered-steel blades of the Safavid dynasty. There is debate as to whether Assadullah actually existed as an individual artisan or whether this represents a title literally translated as 'lion of God'. However, a number of royal Safavid swords attributed to historical figures such as Shah 'Abbas also have comparable signature cartouches with the name of Assadullah, (Manouchehr Moshtagh Khorasani, Arms and Armor from Iran, Tübingen, 2006, fig. 116, p. 156).