yatagan hilt and scabbard, opinion welcomed

kwiatek · 5th May 2021, 01:51 PM

An owner's inscription:

sahib mehmed ağa
tawakkaltu 'ala allah 1243

"The owner Mehmed Ağa.
I put my trust in God. 1243 (1827-8)"

Verses in cartouches

On the left, Arabic verses:

يا خفي الالطاف
نجنا مما نخاف

ya khafi al-altaf
najina mimma nakhaf

On the right, Turkish verses:

Adem geldi kadem basdı cihana
Ecel geldi bıçak ucu (?) bahane

"Mankind comes and places his foot in this world,
The tip (?) of a knife can be the excuse for his departure"

The Turkish verses are a variation on an inscription that you see on tombstones, but with what looks like 'the tip of a knife' substituted by 'a headache'! The word that I've read as 'tip' is not very clearly written, it might be something else. I've never seen this inscription on a yataghan before, thanks for sharing.

5th May 2021, 01:51 PM	#11
kwiatek Member Join Date: May 2019 Posts: 153	An owner's inscription: sahib mehmed ağa tawakkaltu 'ala allah 1243 "The owner Mehmed Ağa. I put my trust in God. 1243 (1827-8)" Verses in cartouches On the left, Arabic verses: يا خفي الالطاف نجنا مما نخاف ya khafi al-altaf najina mimma nakhaf On the right, Turkish verses: Adem geldi kadem basdı cihana Ecel geldi bıçak ucu (?) bahane "Mankind comes and places his foot in this world, The tip (?) of a knife can be the excuse for his departure" The Turkish verses are a variation on an inscription that you see on tombstones, but with what looks like 'the tip of a knife' substituted by 'a headache'! The word that I've read as 'tip' is not very clearly written, it might be something else. I've never seen this inscription on a yataghan before, thanks for sharing. Last edited by kwiatek; 5th May 2021 at 02:08 PM.