Ian
24th April 2018, 02:11 PM
A recent thread on Albanian Arnautka (http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=23866) contained some pics from one of my favorite ethnographic artists, Jean-Léon Gerome, who painted some outstanding pictures of soldiers and mercenaries in Egypt during the 19th C., as well as many other Cairo scenes. His works are a rich source for depictions of Ottoman weapons of that period.
The Arnautka thread prompted me to google Albanian arms of that period again, and I came across the picture below of an Albanian in a mountain setting (probably Albania). He has the same set of weapons as the mercenaries in Egypt--long gun, kilij on the left hip, pistol and long knife thrust through a wide sash--but instead of a yataghan he has a knife with an iron hilt and two "loops" for a pommel. His knife seems more likely Albanian than Ottoman. Some years ago I owned a similar double-edged knife and had no idea what it was, so I moved it on. Does anyone have an example of this style of knife and can give it a name?
The pictures show the highlander and a close-up of his long knife, and two others of Arnaut mercenaries in Egypt with yataghans.
Ian
The Arnautka thread prompted me to google Albanian arms of that period again, and I came across the picture below of an Albanian in a mountain setting (probably Albania). He has the same set of weapons as the mercenaries in Egypt--long gun, kilij on the left hip, pistol and long knife thrust through a wide sash--but instead of a yataghan he has a knife with an iron hilt and two "loops" for a pommel. His knife seems more likely Albanian than Ottoman. Some years ago I owned a similar double-edged knife and had no idea what it was, so I moved it on. Does anyone have an example of this style of knife and can give it a name?
The pictures show the highlander and a close-up of his long knife, and two others of Arnaut mercenaries in Egypt with yataghans.
Ian