When I was in Sarajevo, Bosnia I hung out in the old bazaar area of town (looking for old weapons...). During this time I befriended many of the local antique dealers. They showed me numerous antique miniature items that would have been common items during in Ottoman times (plates, jugs, trays, vases, etc.) They claimed that these items were created as part of the "exam" the local metalworkers guild required to advance from apprentice to journeyman metalworker.
If this is true (it is the Balkans after all...) maybe the miniature yataghan shares a similar back story.
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