Rob, regarding koummya blades, it is often difficult to know if the blades are Moroccan or European as there is such a vast variety in style, quality, and stampings. I have seen ones marked with blades from London, Toledo, Coller Agader, the Seal of Solomun, the double eyelashes, crosses, horsemen, ect. Some of these stamps can be of European origin, while others can be copied and stamped into Moroccan blades in replication of earlier European stamps (Like nimcha stamps of early Italian and German trade swords). Others probably purely Moroccan. I really can’t tell, but the variety of stamps are interesting to say the least and not a whole lot of information regarding them.
Jim, thank you for your kind words, as always. The collection kept growing and it was a way to help share some of the examples rather than being hidden away. The 2020 book, “The Small Catalog of Moroccan and Algerian Edged Weapons” by Eric Claude is a good reference for North African weapons, including a large section on the koummya. Unfortunately, there is not a detailed description of these style of makers marks. In the book, Claude classifies multiple variations of hilt type, such as the gendarme hat, peacock tail, hanzer, and s’bula (Photo Attached). This is where the “hanzer” type is associated to that you ask about. I am unsure if this is the “formal” terminology, but it is certainly used by collectors and popularized today describing koummya hilt variations. The hilt material usually consists of wood, bovine horn, rhino, bone, and ivory sometimes adorned with brass, silver, gold, filigree, stones and enamel….probably associated with the owners wealth and status. I do not know of the significance of camel bone. The boar tusk shape that you mention is a reference to the “Lion Claw” or “Boars Tooth.” Claude states that those types were carried by the “makhzen” (dignitaries close to the black guard of the Sultan of Morocco. The black guard was founded by Yusuf Ibn Tashfin in 1088 and reorganized by Mouley Ismail at the end of the 17th century and continues to this day. The blades have a much stronger curvature compared to the standard koummya. Attached are photos of a lion claw example from the collection and another koummya in a more moderate decoration but showing the “crusader cross” stamp. Again, I am unsure of the makers mark here too. There are a few posts on this forum referencing the cross motif as the Cross of Saint James or Santiago and another related to the Moroccan figure Raisuni.
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...an+sword+james
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...light=koummiya
https://www.the-mansfield-collection...aw-koummya-432