art-of-swords:Yataghan Sword with Grip of Walrus Tusk IvoryDated: 1727-1728/A.H. 1140Culture: Ottoma
art-of-swords:Yataghan Sword with Grip of Walrus Tusk IvoryDated: 1727-1728/A.H. 1140Culture: OttomanMedium: steel with walrus tusk ivory, inlaid in gold (sword leather, incised and stamped gold (scabbard)Measurements: 21 ¼ × 1 ¼ inches (53.98 × 3.18 cm)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.Source: Copyright © 2015 The Los Angeles County Museum of Art -- source link