On the eve of "Christie's" auction, experts doubt authenticity of Imam Shamil's dagger

The "Christie's" Auction House, which has put up the 1841 Imam Shamil's dagger for the auction, has failed to publish evidence of its authenticity, historians have noted. In case of real historical value, in their opinion, such exhibits should be purchased for Russian museums.

The "Christie's", one of the oldest auction houses in the world, has announced that on November 27, a rare dagger, made around 1841, that belonged to Imam Shamil, would be put up for sale. The organizers have estimated the lot at 50-70 thousand pounds sterling (66,500-93,100 US dollars).

The experts, interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot", doubt the authenticity of the dagger.

Khadji Murad Donogo, a doctor of history, suspects that the auction house tries to benefit from the public's interest in the history of Caucasian Wars and in the person of Imam Shamil; while the dagger is a "superbly made copy."

"Another point... is that Shamil did not like to bear gold arms and expensive things... He was against luxury," the scientist has added.

According to the historian, the authenticity of the dagger can be verified chemically by using the analysis of the metal.

Alibek Kazanbiev, an art critic and an expert in cold arms, also doubts the authenticity of the dagger, noting that there is "not a single scratch on it."

Svetlana Alieva, the custodian of the weapons fund of the National Museum of Dagestan, has noted that if the dagger is the original and gets into a private collection, it will be a "great loss for Dagestan."

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.