Yataghan and sheath

Turkey or Balkan Peninsula, early 19th century

Steel, repoussé silver, brass. The sheath and hilt are decorated with filigree with granulation and niello. The hilt is also inlaid with coral. The sheath is decorated with repoussage, terminating in a makara finial. Gold ornament on the blade (overlay). One side of the blade features a two-line inscription stating the name of the sword’s owner, the name of the producer in a centre medallion, and the date at the end (1228 anno Hegirae (i.e., 1813–1814). Ornamentation terminating in a crescent on the opposite side.

L: 75 cm

UMP 4614

Purchased in 1903.

Typical for the Ottoman Empire period, yataghans are short, single-blade swords which were primarily used in the area around Turkey and on the Balkan Peninsula between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries.