Dagger from Oman or Yemen ?
 

good evening you all,

I am looking for advise concerning a dagger I have ;

- is this dagger from Oman, Yemen or somewhere else?
- is it made for a child, or an apprentice piece, or even a tourist novelty fake?

total lenght : 20 cm and with the curve 25 cm
lenght of the dagger : 17 cm
lenght of the blade: 9 cm


your reply would be highly appreciated ! much obliged

and the pictures...

Hello,

it is an Omani Khanjar of the Al Saidi type.
Daggers like this piece are maybe in use as a child's dagger, but I don't know that really. They are also desired by tourists. Normally the metal mountings are made of thin silver tin.
Yes, daggers like this one are also made for tourists and it is not a very old piece, but I wouldn't call it a "fake". It is still a traditional and pretty silverwork and not made for cheating.
I have also some similar pieces I could show as reference.

Regards
Robin

Say hi to your tuxedo cat. My tuxedo says meow to him :)
Oh, nice dagger too.

Robin has identified this correctly, it is an Omani so called "royal" khanjar, though this style is reportedly worn by all members of society and not exclusively reserved for the royal family. Your is relatively modern, and I had a very similar one, and I still have an antique one as well. I do not have a picture of the two next to each other, but when looking at pictures of the details of the silver work on the hilt, the differences are clear to see.
While not of the same quality as older work, it is still a nice khanjar and a nice addition to a collection. But be careful, these khanjars (jambiyas) from Southern Arabia can get very addictive.

Thank you and Robin as well very much! Yes I do like them a lot but no risk for an addiction ( although I can very well understand where you are comming from :) ) as my focus will be with the Balkans and specially the Bosniaks, where I still looking for a few Balkan kama's, cakija's and types of bichaqs I do not have...

take care and stay healthy !

Gunar