Cossack uniform ornament cartridges, Russian (c 1900)

Title	Cossack uniform ornament cartridges
Nationality	Russian
Period	c 1900

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These are made from Nagant rifle cartridges, which have been silver plated, and have niello silver caps sweated onto their bases. They are the classic ornaments on the long Cossack tunic (which extended to just above the knee) and were worn in slotted pockets on either side of the chest.

The earlier examples in the 19th century were made of wood and, in some cases, were actually hollowed to contain a powder charge for the muzzle loading carbine of the day.

These examples have clearly been brought up to date with the advent of breach loading weapons and are thus fairly easy to date as being from the later era. The little loops on the end of each one would have been for running through a silver chain or some stout cotton thread to hold them all together and prevent loss.

Each one is 9.5cm long and their condition is good considering the age. However, there is some wear to the plating on two of the cases; the remaining three are in comparatively good order. All have the mark of lead soldering where the niello caps have been sweated onto the cartridges.

If you want to comment on this item—re quality, age, etc—please email me.

[Militaria : Tunics : Russian : 20th Century]

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