With a hilt made of green jade that has a narrow bar in the middle and a broader, scalloped pommel. The double-edged blade is made of watered wootz steel and tapers to a sharp point. The blade features a deep ridge running through both sides. The scabbard is covered in red velvet with two gilt silver mounts and ends in silver bud. The mounts are both decorated with bands of floral decoration. The mounts also have hallmarks. There are the distinct sah marks (the zigzag and the word sah) to prove the quality of the silver. The other two silver marks on the mounts are likely to be the tügra of Abdulmejid (1839-1861).[i] A small semiprecious stone is fixed on the jade hilt.

Turkish kindjals and Caucasian kindjals both appeared at around the same time.[ii] The hilt of a Turkish example has a narrow bar in the middle and a broader pommel. On kindjals from the first half of the nineteenth century, the scabbard is usually covered with velvet or engraved silver sheet, ending with a small ball like-tip.[iii] Jade hilts on kindjals are rarely found as they were typically made of ivory or steel.

Bibliography

Kürkman, Garo. Ottoman Silver Marks. Istanbul, 1996.

Rivkin, Kirill. Arms and Armor of Caucasus. First Edition, 2015.

[i] Kürkman, Garo. Ottoman Silver Marks. Istanbul, 1996, pp. 46-47.

[ii] Rivkin, Kirill. Arms and Armor of Caucasus. First Edition, 2015, p. 244.

[iii] Ibid., p. 247.