Exceptional Shashka

ariel · 25th March 2005, 09:51 PM

Gentemen, look what Artzi got for a paltry sum of $22,100!
All the little fishes and small time-operators emptying their bank accounts at $10-15K can just bite their elbows!
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...MEWA%3AIT&rd=1
Can somebody put the actual pics on the thread to preserve them in perpetuity?
This is the most exceptional shashka I've ever seen!
Similar blades are shown in Astvatsaturyan's book "Turkish Weapons", pp.95-101.
The origin of these blades (all made of high-class Damascus) is mysterious.
The Greek inscription suggests Orthodox origin. However:
1.Virgin Mary's hair is uncovered which was unacceptable to the Eastern churches
2. The crown carried by the two little cherubs is Western
3. Cherubs themselves are of Western character: head with 2 wings
4. Holy Spirit is positioned upside down, also Western motif
5. The flower held by Virgin Mary,a symbol of "eternal bloom", is an Italian motif that moved to Italian Greeks at the end of XVII cen and only later to Greece proper.
Apparently, translation of Greek inscriptions on similar blades has some Serbian elements and the overall decoration is very similar to the ceremonial dress of the Archbishop( Mitropolit) of Constantinople, Dionysios.
The overall conclusion is that there is nothing Greek in these blades except the inscription and that they were made in Constantinople (Istanbul) at the end of XVII cen. or thereabouts. Two similar blades in Russian museums are dated 1685 and 1692.
The funny thing is that all the other similar blades are mounted as shamshirs/kilijes. This one is a Shashka.
The niello decoration is very much Circassian, with the prevailing motif of "Ram's horn" and none of the repousse of the mass production from Kubachi. Circassians were exiled from their native land by the Russians in the middle of the 19th cen. and settled in Turkey, Syria and Palestine. There are still Cicassian villages in Israel (they, like the Druzes, serve in the Israeli military) and they are traditional bodyguards of the Hashemite kings of Jordan.
I think that this very old blade was remounted in the 19th cen. by a Circassian master, whether in Turkey (most likely) or elsewhere, including the Caucasus.
The only thing I can say is.... very quiet "wow"
I do not even have a trace of envy: this is just not my universe....

25th March 2005, 09:51 PM	#1
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	Exceptional Shashka Gentemen, look what Artzi got for a paltry sum of $22,100! All the little fishes and small time-operators emptying their bank accounts at $10-15K can just bite their elbows! http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...MEWA%3AIT&rd=1 Can somebody put the actual pics on the thread to preserve them in perpetuity? This is the most exceptional shashka I've ever seen! Similar blades are shown in Astvatsaturyan's book "Turkish Weapons", pp.95-101. The origin of these blades (all made of high-class Damascus) is mysterious. The Greek inscription suggests Orthodox origin. However: 1.Virgin Mary's hair is uncovered which was unacceptable to the Eastern churches 2. The crown carried by the two little cherubs is Western 3. Cherubs themselves are of Western character: head with 2 wings 4. Holy Spirit is positioned upside down, also Western motif 5. The flower held by Virgin Mary,a symbol of "eternal bloom", is an Italian motif that moved to Italian Greeks at the end of XVII cen and only later to Greece proper. Apparently, translation of Greek inscriptions on similar blades has some Serbian elements and the overall decoration is very similar to the ceremonial dress of the Archbishop( Mitropolit) of Constantinople, Dionysios. The overall conclusion is that there is nothing Greek in these blades except the inscription and that they were made in Constantinople (Istanbul) at the end of XVII cen. or thereabouts. Two similar blades in Russian museums are dated 1685 and 1692. The funny thing is that all the other similar blades are mounted as shamshirs/kilijes. This one is a Shashka. The niello decoration is very much Circassian, with the prevailing motif of "Ram's horn" and none of the repousse of the mass production from Kubachi. Circassians were exiled from their native land by the Russians in the middle of the 19th cen. and settled in Turkey, Syria and Palestine. There are still Cicassian villages in Israel (they, like the Druzes, serve in the Israeli military) and they are traditional bodyguards of the Hashemite kings of Jordan. I think that this very old blade was remounted in the 19th cen. by a Circassian master, whether in Turkey (most likely) or elsewhere, including the Caucasus. The only thing I can say is.... very quiet "wow" I do not even have a trace of envy: this is just not my universe....