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Originally Posted by Gess
If you engage in serious debate, then we must look wider.
1. Owner wrote about himself on the blade. I do not think that he will assign a rank of "AGHA".
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Actually, Agha was assigned quite often after the owner's name on blades. I am attaching a quick scan from Astvatsaturian's book on Turkish arms.
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Originally Posted by Gess
2. Yataghan obviously expensive. On the handle there were traces of gold, silver and frames for precious stones. Such nominal Yataghan could afford a rich, respectable man.
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Obviously whoever comissioned the yataghan was not poor, but it is common for Western Balkan yataghans of the 19th century to be richly decorated with walruss ivory hilts with corals ans semi-precious stones. This would not have been beyond the means of a large Muslim landowner, of which there were a few per village.
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Originally Posted by Gess
3. Year 1858! Turkey is involved in the war. Many weapons, not expensive . Who could spend a lot of money on such a subject?...
Regards,
Gess. :
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This is an interesting observation, as the yataghan looks to be from the Western Balkans. It may have belonged to an Ottoman irregular who participated in the war with Serbia and Montenegro. However, based on my observations on the weapons of Ottoman irregulars from the war of 1877-78, they certainly did not experience problems in equipping themselves with lavishly decorated arms, and sometimes even with the most modern weapons available, such as Winchester repeating rifles, etc. Unfortunately therefore, it is impossible to determine the rank of a weapon owner based on richness of decoration.
Gess, do not get me wrong - this is a very nice yataghan in great condition and most of us here would love to have it. I know I will. But without provenance, it is impossible to tell whether it belonged to a famous historical figure or just a common bashi-bazouk.
Best regards,
Teodor