Help requested on Islamic? inscriptions on a heavy axe

[Lee]

The labeling attributes the figure and components as 'Ottoman 15th - 16th century'.

The accession number for the axe is 924.55.44; if I interpret the pattern correctly this implies it was acquired in 1924. Unfortunately, in my excitement, I did not record the numbers of the other parts of this presumably composite assemblage. There was a mark on the chest armour which, I believe, was that associated with the old Ottoman arsenal at St. Irene in Istanbul...

[Jeff Pringle]

Of course, how could I have forgotten Constantinople? In the 1500s, the Ottomans were bumping up against both Europe and Persia in a big way. That axe wears its age well, you must be pleased to have found it already on your wall!
Here is a photo of a Persian axe from the 1700s, the carving has a similar composition & gestural quality but is executed (sorry ) with a bit more care…photo from James Allan’s “Persian Steel: Masterpieces of Iranian Art” (ISBN 1850437181), the pictorial volume of the Tanavoli collection.

[Lee]

To recap, my first impression when I saw the axe in the Royal Ontario Museum was pretty much "What?!? ... Really???" because I too had not even thought of an Ottoman origin, let alone any dating before the 19th century, this latter restriction having been based more upon condition than anything else.

Then very quickly I recalled an early Ottoman matchlock rifle barrel (collected for a bold Damascus pattern) and I realized that there was very similar wire inlay of about the same width and color decorating the muzzle (this is not specific, I have seen Moro pieces with similar inlay too).

Then, I had what many here may regard as a crazy thought, which I have not yet succeeded in confirming or discrediting. I have been reeling this out slowly hoping someone else would replicate this thinking, but if this happened I have not heard about it.

Question: Where else had I encountered something in a 19th century militaria-like condition that was actually centuries earlier?
Answer: European medieval swords that had been in the Alexandria arsenal and later moved to the Ottoman armory at St. Irene in Istanbul, many of which were cleaned up and given new local-style rough wooden handle scales in order to be mounted on large panoplies in fashion at that time (the late 19th century), of which some ultimately showed up in the antiques market when the Republic of Turkey needed to raise some hard currency in the 1920s.

Question: Explain why two very similarly decorated axes have very plain handles that show some decent age, but not nearly enough to match the museum's dating.
Suspicion: The handles are exactly what they seem - not original - and were installed in the late 19th century in order to display the axes. Indeed the grain of the wood on a St. Irene medieval sword grip scale shows quite a similarity with the grain of the axe handle. A number of pictures of these displays at St. Irene have survived and I have gone through several that have been published, and I did not recognize any battleaxes of this style. Where axes were hung, they did have hafts. Also, many swords known to have been in the displays are not in the available pictures.

Speculation: The ROM had the foresight to acquire four of the European medieval swords coming out of St. Irene from a London dealer in 1930 and the chest armour displayed with the axe bears what I believe is the St. Irene arsenal mark. So we know that the ROM was acquiring things originating from St. Irene at the time. The accession number of the ROM's axe suggests acquisition in 1924. A dealer named Robinson in London was selling these not only to museums but to private collectors. For the little that this detail is worth, I bought my axe in London.

Ongoing Investigation: Manolo has kindly consented to note the accession numbers of the chest piece, helmet, etc. when he next visits the museum and I still hope to receive a reply from my inquiry to the museum concerning the provenance of their axe.

[Emanuel]

Here are the accession numbers for the "Ottoman" suit of armour. It appears that the armour was acquired in 1913. The axe could in this case not fit the suit of armour and not date from the same period.

I will post the other pictures I took in the Royal Ontario Museum thread.

Best regards,
Emanuel

[Lee]

Another axehead from this group has come to light!

I remember also that Emanuel had followed up and sent me further information from the Royal Ontario Museum, but I just have not yet been able to find it in my archives...

[Lee]

More images and a side by side comparison

[Emanuel]

Hi Lee,

Here is what the curator of that gallery had provided:

...this gallery and the labels in it were the responsibility of a curator who has now retired, and I cannot really vouch for them. The objects acquired in 1906, 1913 and 1924 were acquired from a dealer, the same dealer, in fact, and he supplied no verifiable provenance information about the objects.

The shirt and leggings of mail are from a completely unrelated armour, some centuries later than the plates, while the back-plate is from a different armour from the other plates. The plates are certainly of a type well known from the Ottoman period of around the 16th century, and these pieces have the mark of the armoury in Istanbul, so they are quite secure.

I have never researched the axe, but I was under the impression that this type was from Mamluk Egypt, where a number of these two-handed battle-axes are known. It is not a normal weapon for the predominantly cavalry-based fighting of the Middle East. I have never seen anything really like this from India, even things vaguely like it are much lighter.

I can send you the curator's contact information if you'd like to pursue further discussion with him.

Best regards,
Emanuel

[fernando]

Originally Posted by Lee

... There was a mark on the chest armour which, I believe, was that associated with the old Ottoman arsenal at St. Irene in Istanbul...

This one, Lee ?


.

[Lee]

Originally Posted by fernando

This one, Lee ?

Yes, that's the one.