Ulaanbaatar
Collection of the National Museum of Mongolia: The Knife that was used by Undur Gongor
Art & Culture
Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. In this edition of the series of highlight exhibits being kept at the National Museum of Mongolia, we are presenting the knife that was used by one of the tallest Mongolian people in history, Gongor Purev.
From the early 20th century
Material: silver, cypress, leather
Weight: 3,634 grams
With the 12 zodiac animals and ever ugalz (horn pattern) engraved on the silver section of the cypress sheath, the knife is made of steel and has a wooden handle.
Well-known as Undur Gongor, he was born in present-day Jargalant soum, Khuvsgul aimag in the early 1880. Alongside stories about his height and strength, there are also notes written by domestic and foreign citizens as well as photography.
American scholar Roy Chapman Andrews also met Gongor when he was conducting research in Mongolia in the 1920s. He took a picture of the tall man and measured his height, which came to be 2 meters and 41 cm.
Due to his extraordinary height, he was able to get on top of his horse without using the stirrup. The snuff bottle and knife that Gongor used are currently being kept in the collection of the National Museum of Mongolia.
