Hand-made Daggers - Tveirhrafnr (Two Ravens)
- Swordsmith: Jake Powning
- Year: 2010
- Measurements: length ~ 33cm, weight ~ 358g
The blade of this dirk was forged from 600 layer Damascus steel. The grip is carved with two ravens, their wings interlaced.
Source & Copyright: Jake Powning
(Source: sarsqr)
(Source: gigifoundatardis)
Saber, 19th century; Ottoman period
Turkish
Steel, gold, diamonds, emeralds, pearlsIn contrast to the European custom of coronation, the most important ceremony in the inauguration of most Islamic rulers was the investiture with a sword. This extravagantly decorated saber is traditionally said to have been made in 1876 for the investiture of the Ottoman sultan Murad V (r. May 30–August 31, 1876). He suffered a nervous breakdown before the ceremony and was subsequently deposed and kept a prisoner until his death in 1904.
The sword appears to have been fashioned by a court jeweler using a seventeenth-century Iranian blade, an eighteenth-century Indian jade grip, and gem-studded gold mounts of contemporary workmanship. Although of late manufacture, this sword symbolizes the wealth and love of ostentatious display that had been associated with the Ottoman court since the sixteenth century.
India, Tamil Nadu, Chennai (Madras)
Armlet with Krishna Dancing Triumphantly on the Serpent King, Kaliya, circa 1850-1900This outstanding gold armlet epitomizes a traditional type of ornamental armlet (vanki) worn by Hindu women on their upper arms. The design program consists of various figures, flora and fauna drawn from the rich artistic repertoire of Indian art and culture. The central image on the front depicts the Hindu god Krishna dancing triumphantly on Kaliya, a serpent king who had terrorized the countryside before being vanquished by Krishna and converted to his worship. Krishna and Kaliya are flanked by attendant women waving honorific fly-whisks symbolic of Krishna’s divine status. Additional figures set within the lace-like jungle of floral motifs include a kirtimukha (face of glory) paired with peacocks at the top of the armlet and, along its sides, winged griffins, elephants, tigers, and rearing lions.
Etched German Glaive
- Dated: Mid-16th Century
- Dimensions: Length of metal 19 ½”, overall 88”
With broad falchion-like blade with cutting-edge drawn out to a point at the bottom, etched at a later date on one side with foliated panels within ropework borders containing a Landsnechkt on horse, a female figure playing a lute.
There are also depicted a helmeted naked female figure holding a chalice and a sword, and on the other with a ship, a seated male figure playing a harp, and a naked female figure holding a flaming torch in one hand and a horn in the other.
The glaive has integral circular socket mounts and side-straps decorated with original etched foliated strapwork; on original wooden staff of circular section (lower two thirds replaced with detachable bolt).
Source & Copyright: Antique Weapon Store
Dagger with Zoomorphic Hilt
- Date: second half 16th century
- Geography: India, Deccan, Bijapur or Golconda
- Medium: Hilt: copper; cast, chased, gilded and inlaid with rubies. Blade: steel; forged
- Dimensions: L: 15 5/8 in. (39.6 cm)
Portraits of Sultan ‘Ali ‘Adil Shah of Bijapur (r. 1558– 80) show him wearing daggers with zoomorphic hilts similar to this one.
In this superlative, ruby-studded hilt, a dragon, whose tail wraps around the grip, attacks a lion, which in turn attacks a deer, symbolism associated with the deity Garuda.
Before the deer is a parrotlike bird with a snake in its beak. Lower down on the hilt is the head of a yali, a mythical lionlike animal, with floral scrolls issuing from its mouth.
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art
