Shiisa's random findings

art-of-swords:

Yataghan from the Court of Suleyman the Magnificent

• Workshop of Ahmed Tekelü (possibly Iranian, active Istanbul, ca. 1520–1530)
• Date: circa 1525
• Culture: Turkish, Istanbul
• Medium: Steel, walrus ivory, gold, silver, rubies, turquoise, pearls
• Dimensions: Length overall, 23 3/8 in. (59.3 cm). Length of blade, 18 3/8 in. (46.66 cm)

Exquisite workmanship and lavish use of precious materials distinguish this sword as a princely weapon and exemplifies the opulence and refinement of Ottoman luxury arts. Almost identical to a yatagan (now in the Topkapi Palace, Istanbul) made in 1526–27 by the court jeweler Ahmed Tekel, for the Ottoman sultan Süleyman the Magnificent (r. 1520–66), this sword was undoubtedly made in the same imperial workshop.

The gold incrustation on the blade depicts a combat between a dragon and a phoenix against a background of foliate scrolls. These figures, like the gold-inlaid cloud bands and foliate scrolls on the ivory grips, are Chinese in inspiration, and were probably introduced into Ottoman art through contacts with Persia. 

This sword is one of the earliest known yatagans, distinctly Turkish weapons characterized by a double-curved blade and a hilt without a guard. Yatagans were commonplace in Turkey and the Balkans in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and served as sidearms for the elite troops known as janissaries.

Source & Copyright: Metropolitan Museum of Art 

(via bronzedragon)

art-of-swords:

Phoenix Metal Type 1 Schiavona

• Original: Italian, circa 1600

This is an Oakeshott Type 1 schiavona—the most basic of the schiavona styles. The guards of the hilt are of blackened steel and are comprised of bars of a flattened triangular cross-section. The back-guard is of a simpler form and incorporates a thumb-ring.

The pommel is of steel and is shaped in the shield-shaped “cat’s head” design with a central boss as is so common with schiavona hilts. It has a “staple” connecting it to the knuckle-bow as can be seen on many antiques. The grip is covered in black leather and has a bright double-strand silver wire spiraled around it.

The blade is of a diamond cross-section and is made by Angus “Gus” Trim and has a single, narrow fuller and an unsharpened ricasso area to allow a finger to be passed over the guard and through the finger-ring.

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dduane:

sithgirl:

art-of-swords:

Rapier hilts

Rapier info

I must have all of these.

I could swear we have one of these upstairs.

(via bronzedragon)