Caucasian kindjal

[Conduit]

Originally Posted by ariel

BTW, for some reasons red scabbard leather is considered particularly desirable among the contemporary Russian collectors.

Thanks for your input.
As far as I know Russian leather, topped with strong smelling birch oil, was a major export good from Russia in the 17th and 18th centuries because of its unmatched quality.
As the actual tanning and dying process has been lost since Russian Revolution it is understandable why pre-Revolution leather is so desirable.
Some pieces of the Russian leather recovered from Metta Catharina shipwreck has been sold at top price for both contemporary and restoration purposes.