A PAIR OF OTTOMAN MILITARY JANISSARY BANDS, CIRCA 1900

Metal, the Ottoman ( Turkish) Crescent also called Jingling Johnny, is a musical instrument consisting of a pole ornamented with a canopy (pavilion), a crescent, and other shapes hung with bells and metal jingling objects.The Janissaries were an elite corps of royal bodyguards (disbanded in 1826), who lead the parades. The Muslim crescent and plumes (usually of horsetail) are emblems of the battlefield. The Turkish Crescent (Jingling Johnny) was used in European military bands in the 19th century and survives, somewhat altered, in Germany, where they are called schellenbaum.This Turkish Crescent has a long pole with a canopy at the top adorned with both a crescent moon pointing upward and a star. Immediately below the top canopy is an inverted canopy. Underneath the canopies is a large double crescent with two rows of hanging bells.

Height:145 by 48 cm.