Unusual Shashka

[dat_man]

I am not going to add much to the argument but I am going to say that the metal work with twisted wire soldered on plates is abkhzian and Western georgian metal work characteristics, here is an example

[JT88]

Originally Posted by dat_man

I am not going to add much to the argument but I am going to say that the metal work with twisted wire soldered on plates is abkhzian and Western georgian metal work characteristics, here is an example

Interesting, how old is that piece, and what is it on? Do you have a better descriptive word to describe it?

[mariusgmioc]

In my opinion this is a fairly recent work, but sporting a probably old blade

I know of modern resins that imitate ivory even to the cracks... but NOT in the Schreger lines. Does your hilt show any sign of Schreger lines?

Moreover, while the hilt may be ivory, the carved panels on the scabbard most certainly are not. I have seen this type pf ivory imitating resin or bone on recent kindjals.

Last but not least, I find it very strange that the "ivory" of the hilt is not braced in front bolster.

[JT88]

I’ve found no resin lines, though the antique dealer that has been looking at it thinks it is marine ivory and he said they would not be discernible that way.

Using the black light test resin should show dull/green and not blue/white

[ariel]

I noticed this tread just now . I am very busy these days editing a big textbook about pituitary diseases ( which is my speciality and real expertise) and go to my favourite Fora only occasionally, irregularly and briefly.
I was flattered by Oliver’s calling me “ knowledgeable” about Caucasian weapons. These are one of my interests, but in no case I am comparable to Oliver himself, Kirill Rivkin and a coupe of people on Russian Fora.

I tend to stay away from Caucasian filigree, mostly because I do not have very sharp eye for their quality. There was a Georgian jeweler Dzadzamidze working mainly at the beginning of the 20 century. He was producing filigree that makes Russian collectors “ o-oh-ing and a-аh-ing” , but somehow it always seemed to me very “ womanly”, decorative and not suitable for battle. Then I learned that filigree was the easiest decorative technique and that contemporary mass producers of artificially aged replicas of shashkas and kindjals hired girls, recently graduated from high schools and looking for some kind of their “ first jobs” , trained them for literally couple of days and then allowed them to decorate handles and scabbards. These girls worked for a pittance, just like their Guatemalan or Chinese counterparts sewing underwear for K-Mart. Some did pretty crude jobs ( even I could see it), but some with a couple of months experience produced very good ( again, for my eye) examples. That firmly pushed me away from Georgian filigree.

Repousse and niello are much more complex, and there are heated arguments on the Russian Fora whether a particular design was produced by a Lak or an Avar master. However, most genuine items ( end of 19-beginning of 20 century) were made not in ethnic villages, but in large workshops in Tbilisi, Vladikavkaz and even in some Ukrainian and Russian towns. These workshops employed masters from multiple localities and the styles became universal: a Lac master made Avar designs, a native Armenian decorating in the old Circassian style and vice versa and so on.

I can figure out Russian/Ukrainian niello and just for the fun of it bought a shashka made somewhere there. But again real gurus will find some minutiae of major importance.

Thankfully, I know my limitations and consult the real gurus when and if needed, but luckily I am into fighting weapons, historical weapons and more and more into history and books. I buy new stuff very infrequently and only if it hits me as a puzzle. But show me an old giant South Indian spear blade with a Basket Khanda handle or an old Indian damascus saber with a modified British 1821 handle and I get excited:-) There are some risks in this approach, but I am willing to take them. Perhaps it is silly, but what the heck! There are as many collections as there are collectors.....

[JT88]

Originally Posted by ariel

I was flattered by Oliver’s calling me “ knowledgeable” about Caucasian weapons. These are one of my interests, but in no case I am comparable to Oliver himself, Kirill Rivkin and a coupe of people on Russian Fora.

I tend to stay away from Caucasian filigree, mostly because I do not have very sharp eye for their quality.

Thanks for the response! You were named as someone who has a great amount of expertise on Caucasian weapons, as I previously stated my normal area of weapon collection are Napoleonic sabers, with increasing expertise into modern firearms, and I can be considered an actual expert of Blackhawk helicopters

I have now read both of Rivkin's books, and I did find this snippet that seems to be contrary to what most people have said regarding filigree being used on shashkas. Clearly not the exact style, but it is relatively close minus the ivory. I'm convinced this is ivory, the blacklight doesn't lie and the synthetic stuff shows up green. This sword remains a mystery.

[fernando]

JT88, you have a PM.