18th-Century Ottoman Jade Hilt Dagger
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GUEST:
This was inherited from my wife's uncle's estate. He traveled around the world for business, and he had an interest in antique arms and armor. He would frequent collectors, mostly in Europe and sometimes in Asia, and he purchased quite a few daggers and some guns.
APPRAISER:
Well, this dagger here is a type of dagger called a jambiya. They're mostly from areas between Turkey and Syria, and down through Palestine, and into the Hejaz in Saudi Arabia. And they're not a particularly popular weapon for collectors. They generally don't show any interest in them at all, except for ones like these. The hilt on this one is Mughal Indian. Probably from the early 17th century, 1620s, 1650s.
GUEST:
Oh my, wow.
APPRAISER:
And it may have been originally jeweled like this or it may have been done a hundred years later. And the jewels that are here, they haven't been tested, but there seem to be some rubies here.
GUEST:
Oh, no kidding.
APPRAISER:
And the other stones are amethysts and garnets. The line of blue stones that are there are turquoise. And the scabbard is silver.
GUEST:
Oh, very nice.
APPRAISER:
And the hilt itself is white jade, and it's a very, very good color of white jade. The blade here is a wadded steel blade that's been carved with these hunt scenes. A very, very fine quality blade, very well done. And that blade is probably 18th century. And this whole composition that you're seeing here is probably an 18th century construction made out of earlier and later elements.
GUEST:
I see.
APPRAISER:
The end construction of this piece, where it ended up was probably Ottoman Turkey. Persian blade on Mughal Indian hilt, but Ottoman silverwork. And Ottoman weapons are amongst the most desirable.
GUEST:
Oh my.
APPRAISER:
These are selling, right now, at auction in the range of $15,000 to $20,000.
GUEST:
Wow. That's way more than I thought, yeah.
Appraisal Details
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