Ethnographic Arms & Armour
 

Go Back   Ethnographic Arms & Armour > Discussion Forums > European Armoury

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
Old 22nd November 2015, 10:09 PM   #1
kronckew
Member
 
kronckew's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Room 101, Glos. UK
Posts: 4,145
Default nadziak/obuszek

polish nadziak/obuszek? or both? brass faux axe head with knobbed unsharpened blade for impact, bent hook for hooking your opponent off his horse. age ? tia for comments.

iron ferrule & spike on bottom end, steel cap nailed on head.

900 mm - 35,4 inch x 140 mm - 5,5 inch

WEIGHT: 588 g

more info on arrival.
Attached Images
   
kronckew is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 23rd November 2015, 08:00 AM   #2
fernando
Lead Moderator European Armoury
 
fernando's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Portugal
Posts: 9,620
Default

Not a replica ?
fernando is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 23rd November 2015, 08:25 AM   #3
kronckew
Member
 
kronckew's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Room 101, Glos. UK
Posts: 4,145
Default

doesn't appear to be. some age cracks in the haft, darkened patina where a hand would have rubbed near the spike end, spike & brass collar look old. brass/bronze looks like it's been pitted a bit then cleaned/polished. may have pitting from the casting. coming from Ljubljana, slovenia. will know more when it gets here.

not a high class over-decorated one, looks more of a 'villager' shepherd's axe model for the night out on the town touring the local wodka purveyors and defending your honour from the local wolves, 2 & 4 legged. i hear they were outlawed at the height of their popularity because too many people were getting their heads bashed in in brawls where they were employed.

seller described it as an 'unusual walking stick axe'. from what i can find on the internet (& here) they vary from plain to ornate & everything in between and can have rather odd heads. another take on the fokos, ciupaga, velaska, obush, etc. of eastern europe.

the other side:
Attached Images
 

Last edited by kronckew; 23rd November 2015 at 08:39 AM.
kronckew is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 23rd November 2015, 08:51 AM   #4
kronckew
Member
 
kronckew's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Room 101, Glos. UK
Posts: 4,145
Default

here's an 17c-18c polish obuszek that sold for a couple of k. looks related. and a slightly pitted brass 18c one that sold for a tad less.(both not mine )
Attached Images
  

Last edited by kronckew; 23rd November 2015 at 09:07 AM.
kronckew is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 15th December 2015, 09:53 AM   #5
broadaxe
Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Posts: 332
Default

Hungarian fokos, mid-20th century made for symbolic use, traditional dances, presentation etc. Legit piece, NOT a tourist market c**p.
BTW, both two examples above are not Polish either, the left one is also Hungarian, and the right one is Turkish-Ottoman.
broadaxe is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 15th December 2015, 10:09 AM   #6
kronckew
Member
 
kronckew's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Room 101, Glos. UK
Posts: 4,145
Default

thanks for the info, broadaxe.
kronckew is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 16th January 2016, 09:01 PM   #7
theswordcollector
Member
 
theswordcollector's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Berlin
Posts: 48
Default

Hi the end/lower piece with brass cap and steel spike is indigenous to that of a walking stick especially in winter. Nice find :-)
theswordcollector is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 25th January 2016, 04:27 PM   #8
Valjhun
Member
 
Valjhun's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 692
Default

Greetings from Ljubljana, Slovenia.

I'm pretty sure that this is a miners/hunters/fireman/postal or similar organisation parade axe, around 1850. Fairly common in Austro Hungaric associations.
Valjhun is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 25th January 2016, 05:47 PM   #9
kronckew
Member
 
kronckew's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Room 101, Glos. UK
Posts: 4,145
Default

no wonder i was attracted to it. i wonder if the cast design (logo?) on the blade is symbolic of one of those groups.

my maternal granny was austro-hungarian, so it's nice to have stuff from there. originally from the vienna area her dad moved to the AH part of galetia, she left for the states in the early days of the 20th c. to escape her evil stepmother. still have family in wien and wiener neustadt. many came over from hungary to escape the advancing russians at the end of ww2.
kronckew is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 25th January 2016, 06:01 PM   #10
broadaxe
Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Posts: 332
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Valjhun
Greetings from Ljubljana, Slovenia.

I'm pretty sure that this is a miners/hunters/fireman/postal or similar organisation parade axe, around 1850. Fairly common in Austro Hungaric associations.
Very possible.
I have a similar fokos, bearing logos of the boy scouts and the world jamboree that was held at Gödöllő (Hungary), 1933.
broadaxe is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 25th January 2016, 08:09 PM   #11
kronckew
Member
 
kronckew's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Room 101, Glos. UK
Posts: 4,145
Default

better pic of the blade part, looks like a rather generic design. same on other side.
Attached Images
 
kronckew is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 01:34 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Posts are regarded as being copyrighted by their authors and the act of posting material is deemed to be a granting of an irrevocable nonexclusive license for display here.