Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post - Georgian silver Kindjal (1890-1900?)

ariel · 15th September 2013, 05:49 PM

I am sure you are correct: 1890-1910 +/- couple of years.
By that time kindjals outlived their practical purpose and became souvenirs, parts of parade uniform etc. Moreover, their manufacture became "faceless": they were mass produced in Tiflis, Vladikavkaz etc by workshops, large and small. Workers from all over were coming there for several months, manufactured standard examples, without any connection to their original traditions, and left for the summer to go back to their families. Thus, in the absence of a signature and the acceptance stamp it is virtually impossible to pinpoint the year, the place or the artist.
It's a very nice one, and I would not kick it out of my collection, but it lacks ethnicity and age.

15th September 2013, 05:49 PM	#2
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	I am sure you are correct: 1890-1910 +/- couple of years. By that time kindjals outlived their practical purpose and became souvenirs, parts of parade uniform etc. Moreover, their manufacture became "faceless": they were mass produced in Tiflis, Vladikavkaz etc by workshops, large and small. Workers from all over were coming there for several months, manufactured standard examples, without any connection to their original traditions, and left for the summer to go back to their families. Thus, in the absence of a signature and the acceptance stamp it is virtually impossible to pinpoint the year, the place or the artist. It's a very nice one, and I would not kick it out of my collection, but it lacks ethnicity and age.