Important Ottoman knife with Armenian inscription - Lot 375

Important Ottoman knife with Armenian inscription Steel, sperm whale tooth, silver, lapis lazuli Ottoman Empire, 18th century H. 24 cm - Weight : 98.4 g The blade of this knife is single-edged, flat-backed and made of fine damascus steel. The handle features two sperm whale tooth plates. The edge of the tang and the bolster are covered with silver plates finely chased with vegetal motifs, held in place by small silver nails in the form of florets. The end is inlaid with a lapis lazuli stone. The scabbard, made of leather on a wooden core, is adorned with chased silver mounts on one side and engraved mounts on the other, and ends with a flower bud. It is fitted on one side with a suspension ring, and features an engraved Armenian inscription "fils de Ihoannes" on the upper part protecting the back of the blade. Comparable pieces are published in : - Gli Armeni in Italia exhibition catalog, Venice, Isola di San Lazzaro - Padova, Museo al Santo, Levon Zekiyan B., De Luca Roma, September 9, 1990/January 20, 1991, N° 84. - Exhibition catalog Arménie, La Magie de l'écrit, Claude Mutafian (dir.), Marseille, Evergreen, April 27 - July 22, 2007, no. 4.49.