Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria. To coincide with the OMRS Convention

A good early 19th Century silver mounted Turkish sword, Shamshir, deeply curved blade, 80cm, of watered steel, having one wide and two narrow fullers, silver mounted hilt, cross guard with swollen tips, engraved with lines of chevrons, two piece polished rhino horn grips, wood scabbard covered with black ass-hide, silver mounts en-suite with hilt, engraved with chevrons and foliage, top mount with open back, two hanging bands with suspension rings, all mounts bearing struck marks including Ottoman toughras of Sultan Mahmud Ali II, a maker’s name Mikhail, and the Arabic date 1148, which equates to 1831, minor scattered rust patches to blade, minor wear to mounts and some traces of gilding to the silver mounts, backstrap sprung £1600-1800

See colour plate.

Sold with contemporary paper label, presumably originally attached to the sword, which reads: ‘Sabre of Honour. Presented in 1832 to the late Captain Alfred Burton by Mahomed Ali first Viceroy of Egypt.’

Alfred Burton, previously to entering the Royal Marines, served several years in the Navy as Midshipman, in the North Sea, Baltic, and Mediterranean; and in the Militia as an Ensign. He was appointed to the Royal Marines in 1804, and served in the North Sea and off Cadiz. In 1805 he was present as 2nd Lieutenant on the Defence at the battle of Trafalgar. He was subsequently present at the siege of Copenhagen in 1807, served on the Walcheren Expedition in in 1809, and from 1810 to 1813, at Cadiz, and on the coasts of Spain, Portugal and France. On 19 July 1815, he took part in the attack on the forts and harbour of Courageux, on the north coast of France. Since the peace, he served on the Coast Blockade, in the West Indies, and in the Mediterranean. Lean’s Navy List for 1831 shows him serving in Alfred in the Mediterranean. He was promoted to Captain in 1827 and died at Chatham in 1840.