Collection of weapons and military equipment

From the earliest times humans had used weapons both for hunt and as combat instrument intended to attack or protect (as axe, sickle). Being made in local workshops or imported or even seized as war trophy, it has been used by each and every social class. In different periods of history certain arms and military equipment acquired new significance. With the appearance of modern weapons in the 17th century, it became inseparable part of uniform. Furthermore, in some regions it was considered a part of national dress, and later, in spirit of fashion (taken from military costume) even a part of urban costume (as sword).

The technology of manufacturing of weapons may be divided into two categories: local workshop production, which emerged from handwork, and large-scale, i.e. serial production. Weapons may also be classified as side arms intended for distant (bow, arrow) and close combat (all sorts of blades, axes, maces) and fire arms (guns and rifles, pistols and revolvers, cannons, machineguns, automatic rifles, etc).

Much of the pieces of the collection, produced in local workshops are related to the distinguished figures of the Serbian history as well as to events from the 18th and 19th centuries and comprise specimens both of side and fire arms (flint-lock guns and rifles), primarily of Turkish and Balkan provenance.

Side arms within the collection include the yataghans (with white bone or black ivory grips and silver plated), swords, predominantly of Turkish (kilij or Mamluk type) and Persian (shamshir) origin. Some of them rivet one’s attention by their beauty as well as by various techniques of ornamenting.

Firearms produced in local workshops are represented by two types of rifles - the “shishana” (the Oriental type), and the “arnautka”, a flintlock gun with a T-shaped butt (western European provenance), with its two variants: the “dzeferdar”, a rifle with mother-of-pearl plated butt, and the “rasak”, a rifle with a rat-tail butt.

Rifle of Petar Aleksa Nenadovic

Sword with sheath of Cincar Janko Popovic

Karadjordje’s Holy book case

Karadjordje’s powder horn

Three types of pistols prevail: the Prizren-made pistols, the flintlock pistols called “caline”, and the kubure (the old-fashioned type of pistol), produced in Pec and Foca.

Distinct class of firearms consists of several cannons, among which the legendary cherry-wood cannon, considered the prototype of modern Serbian artillery, is of particular importance. The others in the collection include those from the period of the First Serbian Uprising manufactured or repaired in the Belgrade arsenal from 1808 to 1813.

Gasser revolver

Special part of the collection of weapons consists of military equipment dating from the 18^th and 19^th centuries, including cartridge cases (for keeping and transport of ammunition), oilcans (with greasy tow for cleaning weapons), powder flasks, ramrods, Holy book cases, drums (used as signal instruments) and different types of whips.

Sword of Alexander Obrenovic

Serial produced weapons, over 400 in number, make a separate part of the collection. The majority dates from the mid 19th to the end of the 20th century and was used by Serbian, later Yugoslav army, while nothing less is the part of the collection of weapons used by neighboring or enemy armies.

This part of the collection is not only large but also heterogeneous. Firearms include several mortars and all types of shooting arms - pistols, revolvers, rifles, carbines, machineguns and heavy machineguns, automatic rifles). Certainly, rifles prevail and cover various types and models, including muzzle-loaders, percussion guns, single-shoot and repeating breech-loaders as well as modern automatic weapons.

Similar to firearms, large-scale produced side arms of the collection consist of sabers, swords and knives - bayonets. Of particular importance are officers’ swords which heraldic ornaments indicate not only the process of the establishment and organization of the state but also al dynastic changes.

The objects within the collection can also reveal social, economic, military and technical development of the countries they originate from. In addition to this, they are indispensable source for studying Serbian military history.

Genuine rarities of the collection make those objects given to or received as award or gift as well as those closely related to the outstanding figures of Serbian national history.

Mauser M 78/84 hunting carbine of Alexander Obrenovic