Unusual Yataghan scabbard for comment

[Gavin Nugent]

I thought this a most unusual and seldom seen scabbard finial when I saw it and thought it worth sharing as such types are rarely seen and I can't place one in Elgood, Asvatsaturyan, Vedensky, Stone, Lebedynsky, the Kroatien Jatagane reference, the four I have seen from the Moser collection or anything other reference at hand.

The only item showing a 'similar' coloured finial is the trousse, fig 033 in Elgood Arms of Greece.

Comments and discussion most welcome.

Gav

[koto]

looks like coral

[Gavin Nugent]

Originally Posted by koto

looks like coral

For any note takers, this one is Cornelian.

The silver holder appears to be fern like with the foliage displayed, although it could also be plumage....

Gav

[Dom]

Hi Gav
the Ottomans, or peoples of Ottoman culture had to love especially the precious materials, like;
gold, silver, ivory etc. and semi-precious to precious stones
not rare to find it on the hilt and scabbard's daggers, and even swords,

what should be the brake, was certainly the price to pay ...
like ... every where, at any time

the Janissaries, and more specially the Mamelukes
were to be of great "coquet" (French word to said; love to dress handsome)
à +

Dom

ps/ the blade need some elbow oil and the leather of the scabbard some wax
and it will be a very nice "ya" ... I like it

[Gavin Nugent]

Originally Posted by Dom

Hi Gav
the Ottomans, or peoples of Ottoman culture had to love especially the precious materials, like;
gold, silver, ivory etc. and semi-precious to precious stones
not rare to find it on the hilt and scabbard's daggers, and even swords,

what should be the brake, was certainly the price to pay ...
like ... every where, at any time

the Janissaries, and more specially the Mamelukes
were to be of great "coquet" (French word to said; love to dress handsome)
à +

Dom

ps/ the blade need some elbow oil and the leather of the scabbard some wax
and it will be a very nice "ya" ... I like it

Hi Koto, I agree it does look like coral.

Thanks Dom It will be treated with wax as you say and likely some etch if is warrants....I too will then like to more

I had never heard of 'coquet'. You are correct in what you say though.
With regards to beautiful materials and dressing 'coquet', <<or 'dandy' as later Englishmen referred to the practice of dressing handsome>>, the end result of any dress was always a matter of pockets and how deep and full they were as you note.

I guess my point with the scabbard is, not that it has been dressed in the material it has, but the form of having a stone mounted finial is to my eye so far not pointed to in any reference work I have and I can not recall seeing another mounted so....where many types of silver and coral scabbards are seen and to a large degree they follow a standard 'pattern', none I can find show a larger simple finial as such

Anyone have a good reference to such a simple mounting?

Gav

[Jim McDougall]

Hi Gav,
Not sure I've ever seen a precious stone mounted in the tip of a scabbard, but it certainly seems logically done, as evidenced by the appearance here. It seems to me that the use of coral in Ottoman weapons was prevalent in those of thier regions in North Africa, and this would include of course Egypt and brings in the note on the coquettish Mamluks. I keep thinking of the heavily coral studded pistols and swords attributed to North Africa and the littoral towards the Maghreb. I hope somebody can find another example that might tell us more.

All the best,
Jim

[ALEX]

The coral or precious stone tip mounting is not common but not unusual.
Most common it is coral for Ottoman pieces. Here's very nicely-done coral mounting. My interpretation: it signifies fire coming out of the dragon's mouth... and, as Dom correctly noticed, gem stones just look good:-)

[Gavin Nugent]

Jim, Alex, thank you for the input.

Alex, great image, thanks for sharing.
Is it in a known reference for from someone's collection?
I'd love to see the whole thing in context.
I'd love to see others in context if they are known as it does seem very unusual given that it appears to me to be known in about 1 in every 200 Yataghan.
It would be interesting to know if it is a regional aspect given the accuracy of origins noted in a number of works I cited above.
I too feel it represents fire. The piece you present Alex shows to be within the beasts mouth, but the one I show seems to be more floral and earthy rather than a beasts mouth???

Any more out there, I know there are some keen Yataghan collectors here.

Gav