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#1 |
Member
Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 1,069
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A piece from my collection, bought off the bargain pile at a dealers. The black horn hilt scales are replacements made by me, in a style I remembered from a previous piece I owned...the originals were long gone and painted plaster used to substitute.
Any comments on possible origin, and hopefully a translation of the inscription are invited and welcomed. The engraving is much cruder than the workmanship of the sword, so I guess done some time later. |
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#2 | |
Member
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Paris (FR*) Cairo (EG)
Posts: 1,142
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congratulations ... nice yatagan, very good reconstitution for the hilt if only i could know from where I could get the corals ... ![]() the quality of the engraving, will not help for a translation any way, it's not a job for me, surely it's wrote in Turkish except for Arabic writing, I'm useless ... sorry ![]() ŕ + Dom |
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#3 |
Member
Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 1,069
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Hi Dom, the corals on this piece are original to it, with one missing. I went hunting up coral for a replacement and a business down the road sells coral cabachons in a variety of sizes, but alas not the rich red of these, only a pale pink colour.
I think I was lucky with this one as well, I think the botched grips it had caused others to overlook it. |
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#4 |
Member
Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 1,069
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Any Balkan, Turkish, fans out there?
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#5 |
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Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Nashville
Posts: 314
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The inscription is hard to read but it is a common one on many Islamic swords. It basically reads, No man like Ali not sword like Zulfiqaar.
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#6 |
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Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 1,069
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I expected, hoped for, a standard motto or slogan. The engraving is so crudely done I think anything original would be incomprehensable. Pity really in a way, as the sword itself is nicely made.
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#7 |
Member
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Timisoara, Romania
Posts: 32
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you made the horn hilt scales ? great job, sir .
did you heat the horns in fire? ottoman and balkan makers had a specific technique to give form to the eared grips, with fire and special tools, I watched turkish tv ,a show named Ellerin Turkusu where they showed how it was done. |
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#8 |
Member
Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 1,069
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I simply cut the horn scales from some buffalo horn I had in store. I had owned (but sold on years ago) a yataghan before, and modeled these on what I remembered of it. I used fairly thick pieces, so I imagine the more sophisticated method of heating and shaping saves material, and probably produces a stronger piece of work.
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#9 |
Member
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Istanbul
Posts: 228
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Hi,
It is little bit hard to see the script as result of the reflection, especially the last part but it is: La feta ila Ali la seyf ila zülfikar: There is no hero like Ali, there is no sword like his sword, zulfikar. Best, Zifir |
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#10 |
Member
Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 1,069
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One of the things I really appreciate about this site is the wide scope of knowledge and experience available. Thankyou Zifir and AJ1356 for the translation.
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#11 |
Member
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Amarillo, TX, USA
Posts: 8
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David:
Lovely yat, sir. Could you comment about the tang? Full length, full width? Reduced, a la some of the tulwars I have seen? I'm sorry to offer such elementary questions, but I'm still a beginning student, and I don't know much about the yataghan (in particular). |
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#12 |
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Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 1,069
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The tang is flat and of the same profile as the grip, the ears project/flare well beyond the grip/tang. The tang is wrapped with a decorative brass strip, and has a repoused collar where it joins the blade, filled in this case with plaster....which I need to remove and replace with a more stable material some day. This was a bit of a wreck when I got it, but no complaints, I got it cheap as a result.
I had a yat' before, of much heavier construction and the collar was forged in one with the blade and flat profiled tang. |
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#13 |
Member
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Amarillo, TX, USA
Posts: 8
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Many thanks, sir.
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