Hi, these knifes are a fantastic example on how history can become living again through objects! To do that we must see the places of "Kydonies" (today Aivalik, in the aegean coast of Turkey oposite Mytilene), and the island of Mytilene in Greece, in the time context of 1916, were the knifes were made.
Aivalik= kydonies, was in the beggining of 20th century inhabited almost entirely by Greeks, with a population of 35-40.000 people.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayval%C4%B1k
From 1909 onwards, prosecution started against the inhabitants by the Ottoman authorities. We are at a time with a high rise of nationalism from all nations of balkan states, but also from Turkish officials that understand that the multi-culture ottoman empire comes to an end, and who they try to clean the state from all non muslim populations.
Then the balkan wars and the first world war started and in 1916 (when the knifes were made) some wealthy inhabitants passed as refuges in Mytilene.
In 1917, almost all inhabitants were detained in the inner parts of Asia Minor...
The Greek army occypied the city in 1919, and at that time many of the refuges returned. However they all left again after the defeat of the Greek army in 1922.
So, the inscriptions are not an eccentric expression of fatalistic mood, but rather a mirror of the tragedy lived by a person, who ordered the first knife as an inhabitant of Kydonies in March 1916, and he ordered the second as a refuge in Mytilene in May 1916...
Also note that only the second knife made in MAy 1916, when he was already a refuge at Greek soil has the Greek flag! It was probably to dangerous to have it with a Greek flag when he was still in Aivalik.
Bellow there is a link with the detailed history of Kydonies in Greek, and i am also pasting a google translation in English.
Great items!!!
http://blogthea.gr/%CE%BB%CE%B1%CE%B...%B5%CF%83.html
In Ayvalik inhabited predominantly Orthodox Christians, but there were also some Muslim families, particularly families 25-30 Ottoman officials, and about 10 Gypsy families. The latter lived in the neighborhood Atsinganaria. Kept stores and spoke Greek. Estimates of tourists the city's population during the prerevolutionary period ranged between 25,000 and 40.000.5 at the same level range and estimates for the subsequent period. According to figures published in 1896 in the journal Xenophanes population amounted to 35.000.6 in the early 20th century lived in Ayvalik 30000-35000 Orthodox Christians, of whom 4,000 were Greek nationals. There he lived another five Catholic families and two Evraion.7Kata somewhat lower estimates are derived from the investigation of oral testimonies that speak of 25000-30000 inhabitants
The heyday of Ayvalik, built after 1773 and attributed to the privileges granted to Christians, then residents of the city by the Ottoman administration. The issue of the firman was after effects of known local governor John Economou. During this period there is a large increase in population due to immigration facility. Apart from the Peloponnese, in Ayvalik went well Epirus, Thessaly, and Islanders, both in the Aegean Sea, mainly from Lesbos and other islands of the eastern Aegean and the Syrian and Patmos, and the Ionian Sea .9 The migrations are contributed to the creation of an almost purely Christian city. The phenomenon is part of the broad movements of the Aegean islands and mainland Greece to the west coast of Asia Minor took place at that time.
The next major milestone in the history of the city was destroyed Ayvalık by the Ottoman army and its abandonment in 1821. An important part of the refugees returned gradually from 1827 to 1832, resulting in the reestablishment of the city. In 1832 a firman was issued and the relevant setting out the conditions for reimbursement of real estate and regulate the ownership and tax status of residents. New decree issued in 1840 stipulated the inclusion of Ayvalik in the sanjak Baloukeser (Qarase). After the so-called rehabilitation of refugees followed the gradual development and Ayvalik became again one of the major cities of the western coast of Asia Minor.
On June 4, 1909, in response to intra erida10 and after having strengthened the garrison of the city, declared martial law, under the new political climate that had emerged after the revolution of the Young Turks. The elders were sentenced by a military court and imprisoned. Those involved in politics, and religious and educational officers, accused of being enemies of the state, while the people were asked to "dedicate ourselves to the idean one, large, compact and evenly Ottoman fatherland '.11 After the expiry of martial law two months later, the situation normalized.
The Balkan wars and the first World War and then again gave rise to controversy and persecution of the Christian subjects of the empire. As early as 1914 had taken refuge in Ayvalik Pergamon refugees from areas of Adramyttinou Bay and the villages of the municipality Kisthinis. But in the town of Ayvalik, the situation was explosive, resulting in some affluent residents forced to flee in Mytilene in 1916. On March 14, 1917 ordered the deportation of all residents aged 18-80 years in the interior of Asia Minor. In Ayvalik remained only 256 people to serve the needs of the army and mitropolitis.12
After the city's occupation by the Greek army in 1919 returned to the displaced and the gradual rebuilding of the city, which was stopped but was restarted after the defeat and withdrawal of the Greek army in 1922. Then were all men aged 18-45 years to appear before the Turkish authorities as conscripts. Of those others died in tragic circumstances and others came to Greece in exchange of populations. The rest of the population moved ultimately to Greece with Greek ships under the supervision of the American Red Cross.