Dervish Ax

Unknown

dated A.H. 1241/1825–26 CE · Steel, silver, copper, wood · Arms and Armor

Large axes with crescent-shaped blades were originally designed for use in battle, but they gradually came to serve as symbols of authority and were carried before a dignitary. They are also associated with religious mystics, Sufis or dervishes, who often exercised considerable political influence, particularly among the Ottoman janissaries (the sultan’s elite guard). This late example is decorated in silver with pious Qur'anic inscriptions and verses in Ottoman Turkish by Hatayi, a poet of the Bektashi Order of Dervishes.

Artist

Unknown

Date

dated A.H. 1241/1825–26 CE

Medium

Steel, silver, copper, wood

Culture

Turkish

Department

Arms and Armor

Credit line

Rogers Fund, 1904