The 600-Year-Old Sword Found in Texas | Christie's

‘I was stunned when the pieces started falling into place,’ recalls specialist Howard Dixon of the moment an unassuming folio of photographs was presented to him in a restaurant in Texas earlier this year.

On the seventh page, a small photograph showed a medieval Italian broadsword — a piece which bore a striking resemblance to another that had been mysteriously missing since the 1940s. Until that moment, says Dixon, ‘no one knew where it had gone, and the trail had gone cold.’

In this video, Dixon reveals how a ‘twin’ sword in New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art helped trace the Harriet Dean sword’s history back to 15th century Cyprus — describing what it felt like to make ‘a once in a lifetime discovery.’

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[christies]

Thanks for all of your questions about gloves.

I spoke to Howard Dixon to find out more, and he explained that where possible specialists avoid wearing gloves to reduce the risk of an object slipping out of their grip!

In this case the sword is handled in a temperature-controlled room, with clean hands, and wiped down immediately after handling, so the risk of corrosion damage is minimal.

[renshinishi]

The inscription reads in translation: "Donation of al-Mālik al Mu`ayyad Abū al-Nasr Shaykh to the armory in the frontier city of Alexandria [in the] year 822

[danibundy]

Imagine how many people that sword went through

[Barfymane]

today i realised there is a clear distinction between 'found in' and 'excavated in'.

[brendanthebdog]

Texas is a wild place, couldn't even imagine what other priceless artifacts the Republic holds!

[sandramorey]

I just saw a video that a similar sword covered with shells and rocks was just found by a diver off Haifa in Israel. He was just out for a swim. They say it is medieval. This is pretty amazing as well.

[beavis]

Rick from Pawn Stars: best I can do is $20

[iulner]

The inscription reads in translation: "Donation of al-Mālik al Mu`ayyad Abū al-Nasr Shaykh to the armory in the frontier city of Alexandria [in the] year 822 [A.D. 1419]."

[Farhan_in_Delhi]

I can read arabic, so the name written on the sword in arabic actually denotes that this sword belonged to a man named Abu Al ma'e, a traditional arabic name

[crockodileATX]

Years ago my neighbor inherited her father’s gun collection. Pretty amazing collection. In there was a very corroded sword he found on the banks of the Mississippi as a boy. Later when he was older had an expert look at it. Expert said it was a 16th sword probably from an early European expedition. Due to where he found it the expert believed the sword was probably found then lost again far from its was original location.

[chloehennessey]

Pawn Stars: I’m going to take a huge risk here and offer you $200. I can’t believe I’m even doing this.

[kuribo]

That fucking blade looks amazing even through the screen you can see how it moves in the hands. The distal taper, the balance, blade geometry are perfection. I can only guess how light that sword is and what a pleasure it must feel like to swing it. Absolutely amazing amazing piece made by someone who knew exactly what they were doing.

[shumlaranch]

And with miraculous haste, all the worlds' glove specialists have suddenly converged here, on a singular YouTube video. Amazing how the laws of quack-gravity operate.

[alexwinchester]

600 years later...
Carl: Hey bob look what at this rare find, wipes off dirt.
Bob: *gasps*, *tears up*, I've been searching for this for 17 years.
*Camera reveals fidget spinner.*

[moldarch]

This is a testament to human history and belongs in a museum.

[edstar]

This is clearly a Spanish or Portuguese sword. Apparently the engraving is in Arabic dated 9th century Alexandria. Someone took it back to North Africa and engraved it in Arabic. Because that's clearly a European sword. Moorish and Arab swords don't look like that.

[Williameagleblanket]

The sword was probably given away by some watery tart in an aquatic ceremony. 😂

[gradualpull]

I own a modern recreation of this blade by albion. It certainly is a wonderful and well attuned design, love it.

[ArtisanVaquero]

Here is the transcription of the Arabic text:

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
ابو الفتح الملك الامام السلطان العادل

Translated to English, it reads:

"In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Abu al-Fath, the King, the Imam, the Just Sultan"

This kind of inscription is typically found on historical artifacts, especially those belonging to significant figures in Islamic history.

[zaffvideos]

Not A single word about the translations of inscriptions on the sword. Thanks a lot.