OTTOMAN TURKEY, SECOND HALF OF THE 17TH CENTURY

Sixteenth and seventeenth century Ottoman daggers are characterised by their small size, faceted handles, and gently curving blades. These were frequently picked up on battlefields following clashes between Ottoman and European armies in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and the inlaid numbers on the blade are likely to date from when the blade was stored in a museum or armoury. A similar dagger, also with the 'tears of Allah' coral beads in the blade, can be found in the collection of the Furusiyya art foundation (Bashir Mohamed, The Arts of the Muslim Knight, Milan, 2007, p. 167). A further example with an ornate scabbard sold in these Rooms, Anon. sale, 10 October 2000, lot 212.