Page 153 - The Age of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent

leyman was the yatagan (86) made for him in 1526/1527 by at times knotting together and forming loops. The gold-inlaid
Ahmed Tekelü, who employed diverse materials and tech- saz scroll and cloud bands are rendered in high relief and
niques to display the full scope of the decorative vocabulary minutely detailed, with the elements standing above the sur-
of the age in a work of art that is at once delicate and robust. face. The pommel, once embellished with a large gold-petaled
In addition, he incorporated figurai compositions that repre- central gem (possibly a turquoise) set into a deeply carved
sent the eternal combat between the dragon and the senmurv socket, contains a black spiral vine under a gold saz scroll,
in an enchanted forest, transforming the most characteristic which has tiny ruby-centered hatayis. The top of the pommel
saz theme found in album drawings into a three-dimensional has a silver boss enclosed by a gold scroll set with turquoise.
composition. The gold guard is incised with saz scrolls placed on a ring-
The sword has an ivory hilt with a slightly rounded pom- matted ground.
mel, decorated with three superimposed designs: on the low- The slightly curving steel blade, which has a prominent
est register is a spiral floral vine inlaid with black; above it is spine and thickens toward the point, is decorated on both
a gold saz scroll bearing hatayis, peonies, and leaves; on the sides, each divided into three sections that contain similar de-
top register are gold cloud bands that create large volutes, signs. The upper sections represent a fire-breathing dragon

Detail of hilt, 86

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