BLACK SEA COAST, PROBABLY TRABZON, 19TH CENTURY

Details

AN OTTOMAN CORAL AND TURQUOISE INSET GILT BRASS MOUNTED SWORD (KILIJ)
BLACK SEA COAST, PROBABLY TRABZON, 19TH CENTURY
The curved single-edged steel blade of typical form with gold overlaid inscriptions and decoration, the gilt-copper hilt and sheath extensively set with coral, turquoise and paste gems
Sword 34in. (86.5cm.); scabbard 30in. (76.2cm.) long

Engraved

On one side a Turkish couplet: 'Thanks to the tyranny of this world, there is no occasion for its pleasure, Do not be ignorant, strive(?) for knowledge, the days that have passed cannot be possessed' and dated 'Year 1112 (1700-01)'
The reverse another couplet: 'If the beauty of the beloved exists, then the lover’s master also exists, If today and now [the beloved] is tyrannical, then tomorrow a Divan will come forth!’ and a maker's mark in a cartouche: amal-e adem(?) 'Word of Adam (?)'

Special notice

Prospective purchasers are advised that several countries prohibit the importation of property containing materials from endangered species, including but not limited to coral, ivory and tortoiseshell. Accordingly, prospective purchasers should familiarize themselves with relevant customs regulations prior to bidding if they intend to import this lot into another country.

Conditions of sale

Brought to you by

Behnaz Atighi Moghaddam Head of Sale

batighi@christies.com +44 20 7389 2509

Lot Essay

The use of coral to decorate arms was popular in the Ottoman empire. The explorer Evliya Çelebi records being given a coral set dagger in Albania by a travelling Turk in the mid-16^th century (Robert Elgood, The Arms of Greece and her Balkan Neighbours in the Ottoman Period, London, 2009 p. 104). Algeria was famed for finely decorating arms, especially firearms, with coral which was exported both to Europe and Asia. However, another important centre was Trabzon (Trebizond), on the Black Sea coast of Anatolia, which was renowned for its excellent metalworkers. The pieces decorated in Trabzon use distinctive almond-shaped pieces of coral (Elgood, op. cit., p.109) as found on the present sword and scabbard.

Beyond aesthetic appeal the coral and turquoise set into the sword and scabbard hold special talismanic significance. As early as the 11^th century in his Kitab al-Jamahir (Book on Precious Stones) the writer Al-Biruni described the curative effects of coral and its ability to prevent misfortune. Meanwhile turquoise wards off the evil eye (H.M. Said, Al-Beruni's Book on Mineralogy, Islamabad, 1989, pp. 147-49 and p. 164).

The inscription on the blade of our sword dated AH 1112/1700-01 AD. However, it was not uncommon for Ottoman and Persian sword makers of the 18th and 19th centuries to include earlier attributions and dates on their weapons. The overall appearance of the sword, its decoration and style of inscription on the blade point far more towards similar weapons of the 19th century than the start of the 18th century. A comparable 19th century coral and turquoise inset sword with scabbard is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (inv. 17.190.2101a.b). Other examples of similar date have sold in these Rooms 2 May 2019, lot 173 and 27 April 2017, lot 13.

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