Kindjal, filigreed sheath.

ariel · 26th June 2019, 12:22 AM

Modern souvenir makers adhere to no particular “style”. Flashy, generic, easy to make. Over there profit of $20 is a respectable sum.
There are some higher class sellers, pushing elaborate fantasies, sometimes even with old blades. Be attentive, careful and paranoid!

mariusgmioc · 26th June 2019, 08:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ariel

Modern souvenir makers adhere to no particular “style”. Flashy, generic, easy to make. Over there profit of $20 is a respectable sum.
There are some higher class sellers, pushing elaborate fantasies, sometimes even with old blades. Be attentive, careful and paranoid!

Yep, fully agree! You can never be careful enough!

corrado26 · 26th June 2019, 11:48 AM

Nice to see my Qama once again

corrado26

mariusgmioc · 26th June 2019, 01:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by corrado26

Nice to see my Qama once again

corrado26

Was it yours?! It is an excellent piece!
Well, thank you for selling it and making me happy!

rockelk · 30th June 2019, 05:44 AM

New arrival, I have now in possession my shot in the dark. Only the blade is magnetic. There are light scratches on the back and I can see no copper underneath the scratch. I will have to get some dilute nitric to determine if it could be nickel silver. To me this is very nice filigree, but I would appreciate those with more experience to comment. Could this be black niello in the background with the silver polished? Has anyone seen a sheath done in this fashion? The blade has three fullers on the front and two on the back. I took a number of pictures. I hope I did not overdo it.

ariel · 30th June 2019, 01:34 PM

Thanks for the pics. Now we can stop guessing and see the reality.

Yours is a very modern one, being better than my ugly examples but infinitely worse than those presented by Marius. There is a wide variety of souvenirs, and yours is in the upper half of it: more careful filigree, better blade. But still, it has only tentative connection to the great Caucasian tradition.

One can deliberately collect recent imitations of anything: Chinese fakes of Rembrandt’s oils available in several sizes, Indian daggers with “ bird’s eye” mechanical Damascus and camel bone mosaic handles, stainless steel Turkish Zulfikars, plastic Egyptian scarabs etc. There are as many collections as there are collectors.

But the question “Why? What for?” never leaves my mind. There are inexpensive old kindjals on the market with a paipable aura of history and distinct ethnic styles. Why not acquire one of those instead?

But at the end of the day it is your decision.

ALEX · 8th July 2019, 11:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rockelk

... Could this be black niello in the background with the silver polished? Has anyone seen a sheath done in this fashion? ...

As Ariel noted, this is a modern kindjal. It is of white metal, they mostly use 'melchior alloy' which is mix of copper and nickel, or alpaka - another white metal alloy that visually resembles silver but has no silver content. There is also no niello at the background, it is painted or etched to a dark shade.
There are many modern daggers and swords of various quality being made now, mostly in Caucasus region. Of interest to this thread, here is another modern kindjal made in Georgia. Please note the carvings, niello-like decorations, beadwork and especially to note - the complex filigree on the back side of the scabbard. Even though it is hand made - nothing in it is real. Also, notice the number '3' stamped on the scabbard, a mark which Ariel already mentioned above.

30th June 2019, 05:44 AM	#5
rockelk Member Join Date: May 2019 Location: Arizona Posts: 42	Home with new arrival New arrival, I have now in possession my shot in the dark. Only the blade is magnetic. There are light scratches on the back and I can see no copper underneath the scratch. I will have to get some dilute nitric to determine if it could be nickel silver. To me this is very nice filigree, but I would appreciate those with more experience to comment. Could this be black niello in the background with the silver polished? Has anyone seen a sheath done in this fashion? The blade has three fullers on the front and two on the back. I took a number of pictures. I hope I did not overdo it. Attached Images

26th June 2019, 12:22 AM	#1
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	Modern souvenir makers adhere to no particular “style”. Flashy, generic, easy to make. Over there profit of $20 is a respectable sum. There are some higher class sellers, pushing elaborate fantasies, sometimes even with old blades. Be attentive, careful and paranoid!

26th June 2019, 11:48 AM	#3
corrado26 Member Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: Black Forest, Germany Posts: 1,226	Nice to see my Qama once again corrado26

30th June 2019, 01:34 PM	#6
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	Thanks for the pics. Now we can stop guessing and see the reality. Yours is a very modern one, being better than my ugly examples but infinitely worse than those presented by Marius. There is a wide variety of souvenirs, and yours is in the upper half of it: more careful filigree, better blade. But still, it has only tentative connection to the great Caucasian tradition. One can deliberately collect recent imitations of anything: Chinese fakes of Rembrandt’s oils available in several sizes, Indian daggers with “ bird’s eye” mechanical Damascus and camel bone mosaic handles, stainless steel Turkish Zulfikars, plastic Egyptian scarabs etc. There are as many collections as there are collectors. But the question “Why? What for?” never leaves my mind. There are inexpensive old kindjals on the market with a paipable aura of history and distinct ethnic styles. Why not acquire one of those instead? But at the end of the day it is your decision.