Page 412 - Beholding Liberty!

Arms of the Struggle
THE WEAPONRY OF THE COMBATANTS of the Greek Revolution, in the tradition of guerrilla fight was a practical matter primarily but also an aesthetic one. The armour of the 1821 fighters comprised of firearms (riffles, pistoles, blunder- bus), thrusting and cutting weapons (swords, scimitars,
knives), various auxiliary accessories (cartridge belts, harbis, marrow boxes, molds, scoops, whetstones) and little items for the everyday needs (like hubcaps and small knives), while se- lahlik (leather belt for weapons) was necessary for their support.
Every proud fighter and of course the chieftains made sure to have not only full war equipment but also armours decorated elaborately by the silver and goldsmithing workshops.
ΙΙΙ.5.4 Salver, 1st half of the 18th cent. gilded steel, niello, diameter 13,8 cm, height 5 cm
IT BEARS A NICE DECORATION with schematic floral motifs, which are rendered by both carving and by the savati technique.
412 BEHOLDING LIBERTY!
ΙΙΙ.5.4-11
Armour of the Greek Revolution period
Vasilis D. Korkolopoulos Collection
ΙΙΙ.5.5-6 Pair of pistols, flintlock, 2nd half of the 18th cent.
iron, steel, gilded silver, length 44 cm each
MUZZLE LOADING percussion guns with silver coating, adorned with floral prints and granular decoration. This type of decoration refers to the silversmith workshops of Hepirus or the wider Western Balkans
ΙΙΙ.5.7 Ramrod (charbi) for pistol, late 18th cent. gilded silver, length 32 cm
OBELOS (CHARBI): type of awl which accompanied the pistol and was used to load the gunpowder. Its gilded handle is decorated.
ΙΙΙ.5.8 Sabre, late 18th – early 19th cent. steel, gilded silver, niello, length 71 cm
THE CASE AND HANDLE are lined with gold plated sil- ver ornaments executed with the savati technique representing an eagle with open wings, a running deer, buildings, palmettes and flower garlands.
ΙΙΙ.5.9 Cartridge case with representation of the capture of Athanasios Diakos, 2nd quarter of 19th cent. steel, 12 x 11 x 3 cm
ΙΙΙ.5.10 Cartridge case with city view, 2nd quarter of 19th cent.
steel, 12 x 10 x 3 cm
TWO BANDOLIERS splendidly decorated, one with the ar- rest of the martyr of the Greek Struggle, Athanassios Diakos, and the other with the view of a city.
ΙΙΙ.5.11 Wide belt “selachliki”, 19th cent. leather, fabric, golden fibre, 31 x 42 cm
THE SELACHLIKI OR SELACHI, a wide leather belt, is a key component of the kit of the brigands (kleftarmatoloi) of 1821. In its holsters they placed their weapons, i.e. pistols, awls, scimitars, knives and various other small items. Its front side was totally covered with gold embroidered fabric, which very skilled embroiderers decorated with rosettes, helixes and imitations of wickerwork.