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Collections

Yataghan (Sword) with Grip of Walrus Tusk Ivory1727-1728/A.H. 1140

Not on view
Decorative sword and scabbard displayed horizontally; steel blade with engraved foliate motifs, bone or ivory grip, and a scabbard with dark leather body and ornate gilt metal mounts
Steel yatagan with pale ivory pistol-grip handle featuring silver filigree collar, single-edged slightly curved blade with gold inlaid cartouche, displayed above its black leather scabbard with chased gold locket.
Knife or short sword with a dark iron blade, gold-inlaid hilt with dense scrolling arabesques, and a curved ivory or bone pommel, partially sheathed in a dark leather scabbard.
Edged weapon, partially drawn from a black scabbard with densely repoussé-worked gilt metal fittings depicting foliage and figural motifs; steel blade with etched decoration and a pistol-shaped antler grip with curved pommel.
Title
Yataghan (Sword) with Grip of Walrus Tusk Ivory
Place Made
Turkey
Date Made
1727-1728/A.H. 1140
Medium
Steel with walrus tusk ivory, inlaid in gold (sword); leather, incised and stamped gold (scabbard)
Dimensions
unspecified (unspecified): 21 1/4 × 1 1/4 in. (53.98 × 3.18 cm)
Credit Line
The Edwin Binney, 3rd, Collection of Turkish Art at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Accession Number
M.85.237.92a-b
Classification
Arms and Armor
Collecting Area
Art of the Middle East: Islamic
Curatorial 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]."

Selected 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.