Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post - Random chosen pictures of the Oriental beauties

Jim McDougall · 25th April 2005, 02:27 PM

Hi Michel,
Thank you for posting these fantastic items! Yes, these photos are very much of Jens' superb quality, I couldn't agree more.

I can offer some observations on some of the items.
1. the dagger seems to correspond with 19th c. Ottoman examples in the style of dress, but is very close to the Indian jambia daggers as well. The 'lizard' most likely represents the salamander, which has been held very important in early symbolism and allegories, especially alchemical. Its association with fire may have similar ties to the phoenix, which also appears on oriental weapons in allegorical symbolism.
2. The niello Persian style hilt is indeed Caucasian from Georgia, while the blade is most likely a Chechen work.These straight sabres resemble those used by Khevsur tribal warriors from the high mountain regions of Georgia, however this example's quality far exceeds those usually found from those enclaves. These high quality Georgian sabres were often presentation pieces from the 19th century used as diplomatic gifts by Georgian princes.
3. The yataghan is a beautiful example, probably late 18th to the early years of the 19th. There is considerable debate about examples with these studded hilts, and they seem to be typically Balkan as this feature seems to correspond with similar studded motif on some Bosnian knives and many of the resources list these as Balkan. This certainly does not rule out Turkish provenance though, as these regions were all Ottoman so it is difficult to say precisely. The coral decor has significance which needs more research, both these and turquoise were important in the motif on many weapons from these regions, and most likely carried talismanic meaning in degree.
4. The enameled sabre is most interesting as it is indeed of S.Indian form with the stylized creatures probably being the makara of Hindu mythology which has associations with the god Varuna, Lord of the Deep. In his fantastic new book "Hindu Arms & Ritual" , Dr. Robert Elgood has noted also a similar creature termed 'yali' which is a beneficient protective demon often placed on weapons (p.100). It is also noted that the turned down quillons are of Deccani influence in the example he shows on the page cited.
What is most interesting is that the enamelled motif is as noted, of Lucknow style, however Lucknow is actually in the northern regions of India in Oudh, SE of the Punjab. On p.156 Dr. Elgood references a clearly south Indian katar from Tanjore of the 17th c. which along with a number of others were enamelled sometime in the late 18th to early 19th c. (a drawing of one of these appears in Pant). Possibly this sabre may have been included along with those during this time? More research !!

Hopefully this observations will be helpful in directing further research and discussion as these are wonderful examples and we can learn a lot from them. Thanks again Michel!!! Nicely done

All the best,
Jim

25th April 2005, 02:27 PM	#7
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,281	Hi Michel, Thank you for posting these fantastic items! Yes, these photos are very much of Jens' superb quality, I couldn't agree more. I can offer some observations on some of the items. 1. the dagger seems to correspond with 19th c. Ottoman examples in the style of dress, but is very close to the Indian jambia daggers as well. The 'lizard' most likely represents the salamander, which has been held very important in early symbolism and allegories, especially alchemical. Its association with fire may have similar ties to the phoenix, which also appears on oriental weapons in allegorical symbolism. 2. The niello Persian style hilt is indeed Caucasian from Georgia, while the blade is most likely a Chechen work.These straight sabres resemble those used by Khevsur tribal warriors from the high mountain regions of Georgia, however this example's quality far exceeds those usually found from those enclaves. These high quality Georgian sabres were often presentation pieces from the 19th century used as diplomatic gifts by Georgian princes. 3. The yataghan is a beautiful example, probably late 18th to the early years of the 19th. There is considerable debate about examples with these studded hilts, and they seem to be typically Balkan as this feature seems to correspond with similar studded motif on some Bosnian knives and many of the resources list these as Balkan. This certainly does not rule out Turkish provenance though, as these regions were all Ottoman so it is difficult to say precisely. The coral decor has significance which needs more research, both these and turquoise were important in the motif on many weapons from these regions, and most likely carried talismanic meaning in degree. 4. The enameled sabre is most interesting as it is indeed of S.Indian form with the stylized creatures probably being the makara of Hindu mythology which has associations with the god Varuna, Lord of the Deep. In his fantastic new book "Hindu Arms & Ritual" , Dr. Robert Elgood has noted also a similar creature termed 'yali' which is a beneficient protective demon often placed on weapons (p.100). It is also noted that the turned down quillons are of Deccani influence in the example he shows on the page cited. What is most interesting is that the enamelled motif is as noted, of Lucknow style, however Lucknow is actually in the northern regions of India in Oudh, SE of the Punjab. On p.156 Dr. Elgood references a clearly south Indian katar from Tanjore of the 17th c. which along with a number of others were enamelled sometime in the late 18th to early 19th c. (a drawing of one of these appears in Pant). Possibly this sabre may have been included along with those during this time? More research !! Hopefully this observations will be helpful in directing further research and discussion as these are wonderful examples and we can learn a lot from them. Thanks again Michel!!! Nicely done All the best, Jim Last edited by Jim McDougall; 25th April 2005 at 02:42 PM.