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#1 |
EAAF Staff
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Upstate New York, USA
Posts: 910
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harrywagner's thread on his Kurdish dagger on his Kurdish dagger brought similarities with this dagger to mind and following Kubur's inquiry on variations on this theme, I thought I would post this jambiya for comments.
I saw similar themed niello work on a silverwork item in a London antique shop and the owner of the shop, who was of Iraqi origin, indicated it was typical of items associated with the 'Marsh' Arabs. I apologize that my photo setup does poorly with highly reflective items. |
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#2 |
Member
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Kuwait
Posts: 1,340
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Hey Lee,
Basically, Iraqi arms is one of the most poorly researched fields. Mainly, because Iraqi stuff often look like Syrian (the swords at least) When it comes to those niello daggers (and swords) with river scenes and some times gold coins, the subject is slightly better known at least by Arabs than compared to other styles. These are made by Sabaean silversmiths who made various items. Sometimes you find redressed items and very good blades too with these silver niello decoration. There was a shop owned by a Sabaean that specialized in this, I had a note about it somewhere that I cant find at the moment. I think the shop was closed in the 70's and was very popular in Iraq. |
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#3 |
EAAF Staff
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Upstate New York, USA
Posts: 910
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Thank you again; a Google search for 'Sabaean niello' proved productive. My pictures hide a very nicely bold wootz Damascus blade with a very well formed mid rib. I expect someone was once quite proud of this jambiya.
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#4 | |
Member
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Kuwait
Posts: 1,340
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I had a very fine one, with a Persian blade.. I am sure I have photos somewhere. Gave it off for a friend who saved me from a very awkward situation. Will try and get photos of it. Not all their products have the river scene.. some is very similar to the Caucasian stuff. |
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#5 |
Member
Join Date: Jul 2015
Posts: 373
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Good find Lee. That's a real beauty!
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#6 |
Member
Join Date: Jun 2013
Posts: 2,145
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Hi Guys,
It's really a beautifull dagger! Tell me if I'm wrong: I think it's the river Tigris. And the ruins are the palace of the Sassanian king in ctesiphon. Just 30km from Bagdad! ![]() Kubur |
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#7 | ||
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Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: USA
Posts: 1,497
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#8 |
EAAF Staff
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Upstate New York, USA
Posts: 910
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I guess I should have suspected that the scene was of a real place on the basis of it being repeated on several items I have seen, but I failed to make the connection and thank you, Kubur and estcrh, for the image and information.
On eBay I saw other items so decorated, and read that many of the small silver items were made as souvenirs for servicemen in 1915-1918 in Amara (along the Tigris) where there was a British military hospital. A. alnakkas, I think Nasser had a right to be proud of his work on this piece, though some of the excellent detail may be a result of a larger 'canvas.' I have attached a zoom into one of the pictures above with a bit of contrast enhancement to show the wootz pattern. Considering the quality of the blade, do you think this dagger was made for local use or is it from the higher end of the items made for travelers? |
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