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eftihis
17th September 2015, 08:28 AM
Hi i just wanted to share the photos of this early high quality yataghan that has a wootz blade and a decoration similar to the one we find in high quality pala swords. The handle is walrus ivory covered with silver. I have never seen this type of combination handle before, and also i dont recall any other yataghan with this type of "pala type" gold decoration!

Kubur
17th September 2015, 11:22 AM
wooooawww amazing!!!
Can I ask you close details of the handle and the scabbard shapes?
The blade looks Turkish, but I would like to see some close up, because I "feel" some Algerian stuff...
Or is it possible that is a Greek yataghan? It will be nice to see the motives on the scabbard...
Best,
Kubur

estcrh
17th September 2015, 03:37 PM
Beautiful yatagan, the hilt is quite distinctive, here is a similar one that is described as being Greek.

TVV
17th September 2015, 06:09 PM
Unique and beautiful yataghan Eftihis, thank you for sharing it. To me it looks like the silver decoration on the hilt was not original but was applied at some later point (still long time ago of course). There was a practice of decorating favorite weapons with silver.

Regards,
Teodor

Ian
17th September 2015, 08:57 PM
Estrch:

That looks like the same sword as eftihis is showing.

Ian

Beautiful yatagan, the hilt is quite distinctive, here is a similar one that is described as being Greek.

Kubur
17th September 2015, 09:48 PM
Estrch:

That looks like the same sword as eftihis is showing.

Ian

I think he was saying the last photo at the bottom end.

I don't think they added the silver long time after.
It will be interesting to compare the handle with the scabbard...

Kubur

estcrh
17th September 2015, 11:42 PM
To me it looks like the silver decoration on the hilt was not original but was applied at some later point (still long time ago of course). There was a practice of decorating favorite weapons with silver.

Regards,
Teodor
If you look at how the silver overlay (red arrows) sits on top of what looks like a much older iron with gold (orange arrow) you could be right.

eftihis
18th September 2015, 07:34 AM
The yataghan belongs to a friend, so these are the only other photos i have.
Regarding the silver covered handle, a possibility is that at some point the walrus ivory cracked and was cut in two pieces, so maybe the silver strip on top of it keeps everything firmly in place.

Sylektis
22nd September 2015, 08:10 PM
Hi Eftihis, here is a yataghan with similar blade. I agreed with you for the repair of the handle. I believe that this was done in the Balkans later, late 18th century, early 19th.