Early Pandor Yataghan sabre??

Jim McDougall · 22nd July 2010, 08:32 PM

I must agree with Teodor, and this appears very much an item made 'in the style of' a yataghan type sword, which has some age, but most likely late 19th century. It has an almost theatrical appearance in the stylized elements, and the blade as noted seems like sheet stock, very heavy and thick looking.
The curious guard, which is a block like interpretation of a weapon of the hirschfanger form in a grouping of these in a museum in Vienna, attributed to pandours, but probably actually of later provenance. One of these has the 'Vivat Pandur' motto on the blade, which was a popular slogan added much later in recognition of these troops which had by then achieved a dubious notoriety.

The original pandour units of Baron von Trenck were assembled in 1744, though numbers of these units had been auxiliaries in Austrias Imperial armies since the early 18th century. As auxiliary units, these troops used exotic and often wild looking fashion and all types of 'oriental' type weaponry, operating as foragers and skirmishers that typically exceeded regulation. When thier depradations became out of control, they were disbanded and von Trenck was imprisoned, where he died in prison in 1749.
The concept for these auxiliary units continued in similar application in a number of Continental armies, including Germany's 'Freikorps'.

While the original pandour forces indeed had certain reference to a degree of use of the yataghans, these were among a wide range of variants of swords and hangers as these troops were privately raised and from regions in the Balkans and East Europe, with 'oriental' costume and weapons favored. For this item, that attribution seems improbable, though I very much enjoy seeing this very esoteric topic brought up!!!

By the 19th century, certain exotic units existed as auxiliaries in a number of armies, but the 'vivat pandur' inscriptions were typically bravado placed on hunting weapons in my opinion...very much like 'Remember the Alamo' on some hunting type Bowies. This example seems far later than even the period of these units. Just my opinion, and I wish I could be more optimistic. I sure hate to welcome your post with not so good news.

Best regards,
Jim

22nd July 2010, 08:32 PM	#5
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,459	I must agree with Teodor, and this appears very much an item made 'in the style of' a yataghan type sword, which has some age, but most likely late 19th century. It has an almost theatrical appearance in the stylized elements, and the blade as noted seems like sheet stock, very heavy and thick looking. The curious guard, which is a block like interpretation of a weapon of the hirschfanger form in a grouping of these in a museum in Vienna, attributed to pandours, but probably actually of later provenance. One of these has the 'Vivat Pandur' motto on the blade, which was a popular slogan added much later in recognition of these troops which had by then achieved a dubious notoriety. The original pandour units of Baron von Trenck were assembled in 1744, though numbers of these units had been auxiliaries in Austrias Imperial armies since the early 18th century. As auxiliary units, these troops used exotic and often wild looking fashion and all types of 'oriental' type weaponry, operating as foragers and skirmishers that typically exceeded regulation. When thier depradations became out of control, they were disbanded and von Trenck was imprisoned, where he died in prison in 1749. The concept for these auxiliary units continued in similar application in a number of Continental armies, including Germany's 'Freikorps'. While the original pandour forces indeed had certain reference to a degree of use of the yataghans, these were among a wide range of variants of swords and hangers as these troops were privately raised and from regions in the Balkans and East Europe, with 'oriental' costume and weapons favored. For this item, that attribution seems improbable, though I very much enjoy seeing this very esoteric topic brought up!!! By the 19th century, certain exotic units existed as auxiliaries in a number of armies, but the 'vivat pandur' inscriptions were typically bravado placed on hunting weapons in my opinion...very much like 'Remember the Alamo' on some hunting type Bowies. This example seems far later than even the period of these units. Just my opinion, and I wish I could be more optimistic. I sure hate to welcome your post with not so good news. Best regards, Jim Attached Images