Shamshir au nom du Capitaine Balfour

A watered-steel blade Shamshir with gilded hilt and scabbard, dedicated to Captain Balfour by people of Najaf, Iraq, circa 1918. Damascus steel blade saber, slightly curved, with two gutters, single-edged and flat back. Chased metal guard with straight quillons set with a red stone. Handle and scabbard covered in chased and embossed gold with floral decoration and birds. Condition: handle damaged, blade oxidized. Weight : grs. L. 89 cm Inscriptions: On the scabbard in English and in arabic : 30th May 1918, to their governor Captain Balfour, Remembrance from the people of Najaf. This sword was a diplomatic gift to Captain Balfour from the people of Najaf, Iraq. Lieutenant-Colonel Francis Cecil (1884-1965) was a British military officer and colonial administrator, nephew of Arthur Balfour, who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1902 to 1906. He was educated at Eton College. In 1906 he was appointed to Sudan. During the First World War he fought in Mesopotamia between 1917 and 1919, taking a leading role in defeating a rebellion in Najaf.From 1924 to 1926 he was Military Secretary to the Governor of Madras, George Goschen. From 1927 to 1928 he served as governor of the Red Sea Province of Sudan, and from 1929 to 1930 was Governor of the Mongalla Province of Sudan.