Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post - A nimcha that was not.... :-)

ariel · 21st December 2012, 12:19 PM

Jim,
The only source I was able to find for the Transylvanian Knot term is the Astvatsaturyan's book.
She doesn' dwell on it, but just mentions in a single paragraph that it was a "white magic" symbol consisting of 3 knots and an undecipherable latin inscription in the middle ( see the Post #6, it is the upper row on the left). She mentions without reference ( shouldn't we all know such obvious things?:-) that the blades were made in Transylvania, 17-18th century and were of excellent quality and gave a beautiful ring when flicked. They were very popular in Circassia and fakes were abound ( see same post, lower row). That's it. End of quote and story. I will inquire further re. potentially Circassian source.

In a larger vein, I was very impressed by the supposedly Iraqi sword shown by Lotfi. Indeed, a very similar configuration of the pommel. Together with the obviously "homemade" decorations, and faked "Transylvanian Knot" motives, it makes the genuinely Hungarian source less likely.

Thanks to all for all the help and thoughts. Sometimes, sharp and pointy things present a genuine mystery and there is a need for several heads :-) to solve the puzzle.
Please continue adding your thoughts!

Happy Holidays!

21st December 2012, 12:19 PM	#22
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	Jim, The only source I was able to find for the Transylvanian Knot term is the Astvatsaturyan's book. She doesn' dwell on it, but just mentions in a single paragraph that it was a "white magic" symbol consisting of 3 knots and an undecipherable latin inscription in the middle ( see the Post #6, it is the upper row on the left). She mentions without reference ( shouldn't we all know such obvious things?:-) that the blades were made in Transylvania, 17-18th century and were of excellent quality and gave a beautiful ring when flicked. They were very popular in Circassia and fakes were abound ( see same post, lower row). That's it. End of quote and story. I will inquire further re. potentially Circassian source. In a larger vein, I was very impressed by the supposedly Iraqi sword shown by Lotfi. Indeed, a very similar configuration of the pommel. Together with the obviously "homemade" decorations, and faked "Transylvanian Knot" motives, it makes the genuinely Hungarian source less likely. Thanks to all for all the help and thoughts. Sometimes, sharp and pointy things present a genuine mystery and there is a need for several heads :-) to solve the puzzle. Please continue adding your thoughts! Happy Holidays! Last edited by ariel; 21st December 2012 at 12:35 PM.