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Old 12th December 2010, 04:16 PM   #4
ariel
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Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Ann Arbor, MI
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Battara
Been a while - welcome back!

The hilt does not strike me as particularly Bosnian but more Afghanistan or there abouts...........
Jose,
I think I know where the feeling comes from: the integral bolster. These were widespread on Bulgarian ( and, likely, nearby) examples.
Russian masters in Zlatoust made gorgeous yataghans, but, like many things Russians, those were grossly overdone and very decorative.
Recently, I got involved in the discussion of Crimean Tatar weapons: those were very similar to the Balkan Bulgarian karakulaks.
Would be very interesting to look at the close-ups: decorations might be revealing. I seem to be able to see some kind of circle with rays near the ricasso: Tatar tamga?
If that's the case, since the Crimea became a part of the Russian Empire, the "Russian" attribution might be somewhat correct.
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