129897_auctions-imperial-2018-arms-and-armor-november/
Lot 71:
Description
Of kama form, the heirloom blade double-edged and multifullered, and inlaid in gold at the forte with the date, 918 (1512/3 c.e.) The silver hilt engraved and nielloed overall in characteristic Epirot motifs. In its leather-covered wooden scabbard with later 19th c. Cretan mounts. Early 19th century. Overall length 40cm. Formerly in the collection of Samuel Gridley Howe M.D. (1801-1876,) noted American abolitionist, founder and director of the Perkins School for the Blind, the first institute of its kind. Inspired by Lord Byron, Howe sailed for Greece in 1824, where he fought for three years against the Ottomans at Missolonghi, Crete and other locations, assisting Alexandros Mavrokordatos, among other Greek notables. His wife, Julia Ward Howe, is remembered for writing the Battle Hymn of the Republic in 1861. Howe returned to Crete in 1866-67 to assist refugees during the Cretan Revolution. dimensions 40cm Condition IV
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