Sudan. 1880s. Iron, wood, leather
Purchased in Aswan in 1890 by Albert Sarasin who subsequently gave some twenty objects from Egypt and Sudan to the Archeology Museum in 1896; context of creation not documented
MEG Inv. ETHAF K002112
Turco-Egyptian government of Sudan from 1881 on. Victorious, the Mahdist caliphate controlled Sudan for a few years, while the European powers fought over this strategic territory. The theocratic regime collapsed in 1898 in the face of British firearms. Symbolizing jihad, the combatants’ sabres and daggers known as “dervishes” were covered in Koranic suras, or written forms imitating them, acid-etched on the blades. F. Morin/MEG
