Yataghan (Sword) with Grip of Walrus Tusk Ivory

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Yataghan (Sword) with Grip of Walrus Tusk Ivory

Turkey, 1727-1728/A.H. 1140
Arms and Armor
Steel with walrus tusk ivory, inlaid in gold (sword); leather, incised and stamped gold (scabbard)
unspecified (unspecified): 21 1/4 × 1 1/4 in. (53.98 × 3.18 cm)
The Edwin Binney, 3rd, Collection of Turkish Art at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (M.85.237.92a-b)
Not currently on public view

Curator Notes

...
Weaponry was as much a part of courtly life as it was a part of combat, and many weapons were made as presentation pieces rather than for use on the battlefield. This sword, known in Turkish as a yataghan, was likely a showpiece carried by a Janissary, a member of the elite Ottoman troops. Embellished with gold and paired with an impressed leather scabbard, the sword features a bifurcated handle made of walrus tusk, an uncommon material in the Islamic world that may have come from Russia, which borders walrus habitats in the Arctic Ocean. The blade of this sword is is inscribed as follows: "made by al-Hajji Sharif; its owner is ‘Ali-Agha in 1140 [AH/ 1727-8]."
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Bibliography

  • Lo Terrenal y lo Divino: Arte Islámico siglos VII al XIX Colección del Museo de Arte del Condado de Los Ángeles. Santiago: Centro Cultural La Moneda, 2015.

  • Denny, Walter B.  Turkish Treasures from the Collection of Edward Binney, 3rd.  Portland, OR:  Portland Art Museum, 1979.