Kilij: a strange story

ariel · 10th June 2022, 08:40 PM

Well, the description clearly dated the whole sword to the END of 19 century, and just as clearly stated that the gold decorations INCLUDING the date were applied in "modern era".

AFAIK, such kilijes were not even militarily used by the end of the 19 century, although as a historicism an individual example might have been produced as a souvenir or for tourist trade. Even then, it would have been a carefully made expensive bauble.

Most suspiciously, Czerny's ( usually not the most forthright seller) placed the estimated worth at 400-600 euros, a patently low price for an early and sumptous kilij in excellent shape.

A mystery....

10th June 2022, 08:40 PM	#3
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	Well, the description clearly dated the whole sword to the END of 19 century, and just as clearly stated that the gold decorations INCLUDING the date were applied in "modern era". AFAIK, such kilijes were not even militarily used by the end of the 19 century, although as a historicism an individual example might have been produced as a souvenir or for tourist trade. Even then, it would have been a carefully made expensive bauble. Most suspiciously, Czerny's ( usually not the most forthright seller) placed the estimated worth at 400-600 euros, a patently low price for an early and sumptous kilij in excellent shape. A mystery.... Last edited by ariel; 10th June 2022 at 08:53 PM.