Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

ham · 6th August 2005, 10:14 PM

Gentlemen,
Though very similar in form and embellishment to Ottoman Arab provincial work, this saber is Bosnian-- the observation that the rose invokes Sufism is correct-- Bosnian Muslims were known for particular schools of Sufism. Actually, downcurved pommels are found on Slavic weapons as well as Arab ones, though more rarely. One of the distinguishing factors is that they are often of a piece with the grip as this example is. Several portraits of Cossack hetmans and officers from the early-mid 19th century wearing sabers with such pommels support this, see Russian Award Weapons by Durov.
As for the date, as Tariq notes, the dot indicates a "nun" as part of the word "sene" (year in Ottoman,) rather than the digit zero. Further, I believe the numerals read 1-2-4-5. The 2 appears to be a 3 but in fact that extra tooth is actually a small dent superposed over the outline of the numeral proper. This would date the sword c. 1830, which is consistent with the silverwork.

Sincerely,

Ham

6th August 2005, 10:14 PM	#20
ham Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 190	Gentlemen, Though very similar in form and embellishment to Ottoman Arab provincial work, this saber is Bosnian-- the observation that the rose invokes Sufism is correct-- Bosnian Muslims were known for particular schools of Sufism. Actually, downcurved pommels are found on Slavic weapons as well as Arab ones, though more rarely. One of the distinguishing factors is that they are often of a piece with the grip as this example is. Several portraits of Cossack hetmans and officers from the early-mid 19th century wearing sabers with such pommels support this, see Russian Award Weapons by Durov. As for the date, as Tariq notes, the dot indicates a "nun" as part of the word "sene" (year in Ottoman,) rather than the digit zero. Further, I believe the numerals read 1-2-4-5. The 2 appears to be a 3 but in fact that extra tooth is actually a small dent superposed over the outline of the numeral proper. This would date the sword c. 1830, which is consistent with the silverwork. Sincerely, Ham Last edited by ham; 6th August 2005 at 10:25 PM.