RARE SUDANESE BATTLE STANDARD, ALAM, MAHDIST WAR PERIOD, C.1885

Iron head of quindent form, decorated overall, both sides, in Thuluth script. The form represents the Panjatan, the five chaste personalities of Islam: the Holy Prophet, Hazrat Ali, Hazrat Fatima, Imam Hassan and Imam Hussain. Cylindrical socket and bolster flanked by spherical expansions, probably reforged from a gun barrel as sometimes encountered.  On its red painted pole. The paint dry and flaking. 80 ¾” overall. Originally commemorating the martyrdom of Imam Husain who died at the Battle of Karbala in 680, these were used in the Anglo-Sudanese War (Mahdist War) of 1885 as a religious focus and inspiration as well as to direct military activity in the field.