the Persian gold-mounted sword with straight single-edged double fullered blade, over a characteristic cross guard in gold, engraved with scrolls and foliage, gold braid, two-piece bone grip and gold mounted pommel repoussé with foliage, housed in original scroll tooled leather clad scabbard with gold mounts and hoop suspensions

The miniature dress medals comprising the Order of the Brilliant Star of Zanzibar; Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire; East and Central Africa Medal with UGANDA 1897-98 Bar; the Order of St. John; Dehli Durbar Medal 1911; Imperial British East Africa Company Medal and (believed) top bar, ribbon and star mount (i.e. principal medal missing) for the Order of the Star of India.

Note: Both sword and a portion of the dress medals relate to Dr. Walter Halliburton MacDonald.

MacDonald was born in Lochaber, Inverness, 1858. He went to East Africa in 1889 in the service of the British Imperial East Africa Company, working as the Principal Medical Officer. He served in this role until around 1900.

Much can be gleaned (although some conflicting) from the online source below,
https://www.europeansineastafrica.co.uk/_site/custom/database/?a=viewIndividual&pid=2&person=1337

This includes record of the sale of his full-size medal group at Dix Noonan Webb, with the following passages being of most relevance.

‘Walter Halliburton Babington MacDonald was born at Fort William, Scotland. Studying Medicine, he gained the L.R.C.P., L.R.S. (Edinburgh) and L.F.P.S. (Glasgow, 1888), and was a Medallist in Chemistry and in Medical Jurispudence. A former Surgeon Major in the Indian Medical Service, he was Acting Consul-General at Zanzibar, 1888. He was appointed Principal Medical Officer in the Imperial British East Africa Company in 1889, based in Mombasa. He served with I.B.E.A. Co. forces in the Witu expedition of 1890 and was P.M.O. in the operations against Mbaruk in 1895. He was present at the bombardment of Zanzibar in 1896 and received the thanks of the Sultan, was presented with a sword (1896) and received the Order of the Brilliant Star (1898).

MacDonald was present in the operations in Uganda during 1897-98 and was Medical Officer of the Anglo-German Boundary Commission of 1898. He was involved in the operations in Nandi country during 1900 and in operations against the Ogaden Somalis during 1900-01. Following his services in combatting the plague which had broken out in Nairobi in 1902, he received a letter of thanks from the Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.

Old Africa - 22-11-16 - Christine Nicholls - When the Imperial British East Africa Company began to trade in East Africa in the early 1890s, there was a need for a hospital for Europeans, prone to fall sick so easily in a country with an unfamiliar climate, where malaria was still imperfectly understood. IBEAC appointed Dr WH Macdonald, registered as a medical doctor in Edinburgh in 1889, to be Mombasa’s doctor. Then the Company received a donation to build a church and hospital. The Roman Catholic Holy Ghost Fathers were given the running of it, under the supervision of the Chief Medical Officer, Dr WH Macdonald. In the same year the British Government took over the administration of the East Africa Protectorate, and with it the management of the hospital.

Macdonald now worked for the government and had as his assistants three sisters of the Order of St Joseph de Cluny, from France. They were Mother Auxanne Maugee, from Martinique, who was in charge, Sister Benilda Houston from Donegal in Ireland, and Sister James Hearty from Scotland. This mixed band manned the hospital until 1901, when they handed over to lay sisters arriving from England on 1 November. Mother Auxanne died in France in 1902. A plaque in her memory was placed in the Holy Ghost Cathedral in Mombasa and later moved to the hospital. The other two sisters went to the Seychelles.’

The sword offered in this lot is that documented and underlined above, therefore relating to the Anglo-Zanzibar War of 1896. It was therefore likely bestowed by Hamoud bin Mohammed Al-Busaidi. Sultan of Zanzibar post-war (1896-1902).

A similar sword relating to Henry Morton Stanley and the Emin Pasha Expedition, was sold through Christie’s in 2002. In this instance, it is a curved shamshir bestowed by Barghesh bin Sayid Sultan of Zanzibar (link below),
https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-3975959?ldp_breadcrumb=back

An image of MacDonald's obituary from The British Medical Journal, 5th February 1916, is attached to this lot and available through the following link,
https://www.bmj.com/content/1/2875/222.4

The sword relates to important era and person in British colonial history in Africa.

Note: Also shown are photos of photos of Walter Haliburton Macdonald and his home in Zanzibar (these photos being kept by the vendor and have been supplied to us for illustrative purposes).