UNUSUAL KILIJ FITTINGS - ... EAST EUROPEAN?

[Philip]

I agree that a likely explanation of the man-fighting-dragon iconography is a depiction of St. George and his epic struggle. In Western European art, George is usually depicted on horseback, but the the cases seen here, it could be a variation on a familiar theme.

Other Christian themes I've seen on Greek-remounted Ottoman blades are the Agnus Dei, and the Lion of St. Mark. Years ago I had a yataghan, with a fairly ordinary Turkish blade with the somewhat crude chiseled inscription, in a magnificent silver scabbard, most likely Greek, with the lion emblem chased on the front center portion. I'm still kicking myself for trading it off for something -- for what I can no longer remember so it probably wasn't a very wise decision although it probably made financial sense at the time.