Interesting Ottoman (?) Knife!

Jim McDougall · 9th July 2010, 02:24 PM

Hang in there Gess, eventually we will get translation, I suppose there are lots of people on vacation this time of year

This truly is a nice dagger, and naturally the Ottoman influence is profoundly present as all of these areas in North Africa, Arabian littoral, Middle East, Balkans were under that suzerainty. The serpent or dragon head on the quillon terminal which Gav noted is also a distinct Ottoman feature.

The most distinct characteristic is the openwork in the center of the blade which is pretty much a hallmark of Albacete, Spain knives. The presence of this feature would not normally occur on blades outside the Spanish sphere in the Meditteranean in my opinion.
The Ottoman style hilt, which is profusely decorated in red coral and the circled dot motif reflects a distinct Moorish characteristic in often strategically avoiding empty space by applying heavy decoration. The red coral is a well known and highly regarded Maghrebi affectation, and many weapons are beautifully embellished with these.
My inclination is that this dagger is from Spanish regions in Morocco.
I am curious about the date, 1865, did you determine that from some of the blade inscription?
I hope our faithful translator Dom will be coming in on this soon, in the meantime, thank you so much for sharing this beauty with us!!!

All best regards,
Jim

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9th July 2010, 02:24 PM	#6
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,295	Hang in there Gess, eventually we will get translation, I suppose there are lots of people on vacation this time of year This truly is a nice dagger, and naturally the Ottoman influence is profoundly present as all of these areas in North Africa, Arabian littoral, Middle East, Balkans were under that suzerainty. The serpent or dragon head on the quillon terminal which Gav noted is also a distinct Ottoman feature. The most distinct characteristic is the openwork in the center of the blade which is pretty much a hallmark of Albacete, Spain knives. The presence of this feature would not normally occur on blades outside the Spanish sphere in the Meditteranean in my opinion. The Ottoman style hilt, which is profusely decorated in red coral and the circled dot motif reflects a distinct Moorish characteristic in often strategically avoiding empty space by applying heavy decoration. The red coral is a well known and highly regarded Maghrebi affectation, and many weapons are beautifully embellished with these. My inclination is that this dagger is from Spanish regions in Morocco. I am curious about the date, 1865, did you determine that from some of the blade inscription? I hope our faithful translator Dom will be coming in on this soon, in the meantime, thank you so much for sharing this beauty with us!!! All best regards, Jim