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An Ottoman walrus-ivory hilted Sword (yataghan), made by Ustad Nuh Turkey, dated AH 1225/ AD 1810(2) image 1
An Ottoman walrus-ivory hilted Sword (yataghan), made by Ustad Nuh Turkey, dated AH 1225/ AD 1810(2) image 2
An Ottoman walrus-ivory hilted Sword (yataghan), made by Ustad Nuh Turkey, dated AH 1225/ AD 1810(2) image 3
Lot 183Y

An Ottoman walrus-ivory hilted Sword (yataghan), made by Ustad Nuh
Turkey, dated AH 1225/ AD 1810
(2)

8 April 2014, 10:30 BST
London, New Bond Street

£2,000 - £3,000

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An Ottoman walrus-ivory hilted Sword (yataghan), made by Ustad Nuh
Turkey, dated AH 1225/ AD 1810

the curved single-edged steel blade decorated in gold damascene to one side with a large inscription-filled cartouche with central inscription-filled roundel containing a star, the cartouche flanked by stylised palmettes and vegetal motifs, to the other side with a series of stylised flowerheads and vegetal motifs, the forte with scrolling foliate interlace, the carved hilt with prominent ears forming the pommel, the wood scabbard clad in red velvet and mounted with silver at either end, the edges decorated with engraved floral vines terminating in a finial in the form of a fish
71 cm. long.(2)

Footnotes

Inscriptions: sahib ve malik mehmed ağa sana 1225; "Owner and possessor Mehmed Ağa year AH 1225/ AD 1810"; sine-i 'adaye fal açdı hanceriñ
rahmet üstada olsun bu mücevheriñ
, "The dagger took an omen from the breast of its enemy/ May the bejewelled [dagger's] master be blessed"; bu bicaĝıñ sahibine baht ve sıhhat yar ola/ düşmanıñ karı hemişe ah ve hasret zar ola, "May fortune and good health be a companion to the owner of this knife/
May the enemies business always abound in sighing and grief"; 'amal al-haj nuh tawakkuli 'ala khaliqi 'abduhu muhammad, "Work of al-Hajj Nuh, I put trust in my creator, his servant Muhammad / Mehmed"; and in the rosette in the middle, the names of the seven sleepers of Ephesus and their dog.

For a yataghan by Ustad Nuh, see Sotheby's, Arts of the Islamic World, 14th April 2010, lot 248. Three swords by him are also recorded in L.A. Mayer, Islamic Armourers and their Works, Geneva, 1962, p. 67.

Additional information