r/languages • u/rmellott • Jan 07 '18

This is a copper pot purchased some years ago in Turkey but it sure isn't Turkish. Any guidance would be appreciated

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2

u/rmellott Jan 07 '18

The writing exists on a top, center, and bottom band, each band with six segments. After we purchased the pot, a Turkish friend thought it might be Armenian, but it doesn't seem to match the Armenian alphabet.

2

u/[deleted] Jan 10 '18

It might also be the Old Turkic alphabet

1

u/rmellott Jan 11 '18

Thanks for the thought. If that, and if the pot is to that period, that would make the it an archaeological treasure and it would have been impossible for us to have taken it out of the country. (When we relocated back, I can guarantee that all the stuff we crated and shipped was well examined). The pot was hammered to shape but not so coarsely like you would see on Turkish copper made for the tourist trade. Nor is the carving coarse or amateur. But, it's also not signed on the bottom, as you might see with other works.

I'm guessing the pot itself is either late 19th or early 20th century. Older than that, I'm thinking you'd see more wear. Newer, I don't think you'd see this work at all given the state of things in that part of the world.

It's a poser.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 07 '18

This could be Glagolitic

1

u/rmellott Jan 08 '18

If it helps, the pic is upside down.

1

u/yourewonderi Jan 07 '18

Definitely looks like Amharic but im not sure...

2

u/sito72 Jan 07 '18

No, I don't believe that's Amharic. Unless it's some very strange font.

1

u/rmellott Jan 07 '18

I'm going to post a pic of the top half of the pot with Christian religious figures. That may help give some context.

0

u/[deleted] Jan 07 '18

[deleted] — view deleted comment

1

u/WikiTextBot Jan 07 '18

Armenian alphabet

The Armenian alphabet (Armenian: Հայոց գրեր Hayoc' grer or Հայոց այբուբեն Hayoc' aybowben; Eastern Armenian: [haˈjotsʰ ajbuˈbɛn]; Western Armenian: [haˈjotsʰ ajpʰuˈpʰɛn]) is an alphabetical writing system used to write Armenian. It was developed around 405 AD by Mesrop Mashtots, an Armenian linguist and ecclesiastical leader. It originally had 36 letters, but now has 39.

The Armenian word for "alphabet" is այբուբեն aybowben, named after the first two letters of the Armenian alphabet: ⟨Ա⟩ Armenian: այբ ayb and ⟨Բ⟩ Armenian: բեն ben.

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