help with identity & origin

eftihis · 22nd February 2006, 03:04 PM

Hallo friends,
I am posting photos of a Greek knife i have, which has etched the exact same symbols on blade. It is dated 1906, and have the name in Greek of the owner or manufacturer (Papadimitriou) Maybe this design is not exclusively Greek, but can be an indication that the blade is from Greece. Regarding the brass work i do not think is cast, it looks more than embossed to me, and also there is damage in the mouth of the scabbard, i do n ot think that somebody would damage a reproduction to be more persuasive.
The brass work reminds me Albanian Rat tail pistols as Ham says, but again we speak about an era and place that people, traders and craftsmen mooved arround, and also borders of ethnicities were not so much defined.

Regarding the Solomon star on the other yataghan, it is purely talismanic, for good luck, and this belief is not among muslims only. In an unpublishe book of Pavlos Vlastos, (a great Cretan folklorist -laograph we say), i read in the chapter about "spells and protective magic talisman of Crete" that this symbol is for "good luck" and another variation for "protect you against weapons"!!! Then it is obvious why it exists in so many yataghans, it is to protect you from the weapon of the oponent, and if you notice you will see that most times is in the external side of the blade, the one tat the opponent would face if you have the swordon your right hand.
Regards to all!

Dom · 25th February 2006, 10:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eftihis

I am posting photos of a Greek knife i have, which has etched the exact same symbols on blade. It is dated 1906, and have the name in Greek of the owner or manufacturer (Papadimitriou) ..snip..

step by step here we are

as I suggest it, the decor is not in accordance with origine; Muslim countries
I extract the 2 principal part of decor
- 1 style flower with 6 petals
- 1 webbed or Byzantine cross
it last decoration, I repeat myself

is not easy for a good Moslem to associate a croos decor on a blade carried by him, but by a Greek no problem

the Greek Moslems are rarer than one Turkish Christian

in Sofia mosque (St Sophia) in the marble was engraved exactly the same type of crosses,
all must of them have been erased when the church became a mosque

à +

Dom

Tim Simmons · 25th February 2006, 10:38 AM

I do not know anything about this except the eared handle grips have been cast and although the picture is not that clear, most probably from wax originals. Tim

22nd February 2006, 03:04 PM	#1
eftihis Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Chania Crete Greece Posts: 512	Maybe is Greek! Hallo friends, I am posting photos of a Greek knife i have, which has etched the exact same symbols on blade. It is dated 1906, and have the name in Greek of the owner or manufacturer (Papadimitriou) Maybe this design is not exclusively Greek, but can be an indication that the blade is from Greece. Regarding the brass work i do not think is cast, it looks more than embossed to me, and also there is damage in the mouth of the scabbard, i do n ot think that somebody would damage a reproduction to be more persuasive. The brass work reminds me Albanian Rat tail pistols as Ham says, but again we speak about an era and place that people, traders and craftsmen mooved arround, and also borders of ethnicities were not so much defined. Regarding the Solomon star on the other yataghan, it is purely talismanic, for good luck, and this belief is not among muslims only. In an unpublishe book of Pavlos Vlastos, (a great Cretan folklorist -laograph we say), i read in the chapter about "spells and protective magic talisman of Crete" that this symbol is for "good luck" and another variation for "protect you against weapons"!!! Then it is obvious why it exists in so many yataghans, it is to protect you from the weapon of the oponent, and if you notice you will see that most times is in the external side of the blade, the one tat the opponent would face if you have the swordon your right hand. Regards to all! Attached Images

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25th February 2006, 10:38 AM	#3
Tim Simmons Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: What is still UK Posts: 5,875	I do not know anything about this except the eared handle grips have been cast and although the picture is not that clear, most probably from wax originals. Tim