Random chosen pictures of the Oriental beauties

[Jim McDougall]

Hi Kirill,
I must apologize for addressing you by Rivkin, I always get confused by psuedonyms and other names so very much prefer first names.

My compliments on the outstanding response with specific comments and references! Excellent. This is exactly the kind of discussion I have been referring to. Now we're getting somewhere, and the points you have presented are well taken.
The sabre shown in Michels photos is of Georgian form, as noted, and as you have correctly observed, very much like those used by the Khevsurs in the remote mountain regions. This example is of extremely high presentation quality, and while of Khevsur form, it is of course not Khevsur.
Extremely interesting data on the Mjalhista. While quite familiar with the Khevsurs, I am not with this tribal group, and this is important information to continue research on tribal groups of these regions.

Concerning 'gift swords' I did find some material in translated notes from "Russian Award Weapons", a 1994 book written in Russian, and I had some parts translated. The author notes (p.164,178) that during the early 18th century the Russians adopted the established oriental tradition of presenting swords as gifts. Many of these swords were presented to "..chiefs and sultans" to recognize their loyalty. It is interesting to note that many of these swords were of traditional forms popular in the regions which they were presented and many of the inscriptions were in Arabic as well as Russian. During the early 19th century, there were a number of sabres presented to Georgian princes for thier service in Russias wars with 'non-Christian nations'. These were inscribed in Georgian much in the same manner.
It would seem that the Russian Empire was very much aware of diplomatic protocol and while not specifically concerned with symbolism or tradition of its subordinate countries, it did recognize the importance of gesture and observing such details.

Considering the possibilities of this being a Russian gift intended for Georgian recipient, it seems that the motifs you have mentioned such as the seven point star may have been faithfully reproduced. If this was the case then it would seem we should consider where Russia would have had the weapons made. If it was in Russia, then probably Tula, but then certainly there would be have been markings to that effect. Again, the Chechen aul of Ataghi, which was controlled by the Tsars administration, might be a candidate. Regarding your note on there being no distinct marking for Ataghi, this is quite possibly due to its apparant diversity in producing for broad markets, much as Solingen, where markings and motif were applied according to requirements gauged by these markets.

With the observations you have made, there seems also to be very distinct possibility that this may have been furbished in Tiflis. Tiflis was an extremely important trade center, which certainly maintained production of weapons accordingly, and as you have noted there were certainly a wide range of makers there which would have included not only the Georgians themselves, but Daghestanis, Chechens, Armenians and others.

I think this sword is Georgian and intended to represent a Khevsur straight sabre. The blade is an interesting amalgam of the shashkas we have discussed, and the 'kaldam' . It does appear, as we agree ,of high quality, and likely intended for gift or presentation purposes rather than an actual Khevsur example, probably latter 19th century.

I very much appreciate the detail and information you have responded with, much of which I had not been aware of, and I think we have gained much greater perspective on this sword. Thank you.

Very best regards,
Jim