A little Sahel/Maghreb panoply...

[Iain]

A nice box arrived for me yesterday with many new things. Mostly stuff I'd accumulated over the last year and a bit and had stored up in the US waiting to be shipped to me.

I just thought I'd share a quick group pic of a few items.

[colin henshaw]

Fine pieces, Iain. Where exactly is the dagger from ?

Regards.

[Iain]

Originally Posted by colin henshaw

Fine pieces, Iain. Where exactly is the dagger from ?

Regards.

Thanks Colin, I am particularly pleased with the single fuller sword.

The dagger should be from Mauritania or Mali. Or at least that's what I think was suggested sometime ago when I first showed off seller photos of the dagger on the forum. It's a pretty little thing and very well put together.

[thinreadline]

Very nice Iain , I too like the single fuller takouba . Never seen a dagger like that , its most unusual .

[CharlesS]

Iain,

Lovely pieces. The takoubas look to have quality and sturdier than usual blades. Both are quite nice!

I have heard of the dagger style being referenced to Senegal, but have never seen a stitch of written or illustrated evidence. I think those dagger types are lovely and elegant. They may borrow a little from the Moroccan koummya, but there is nothing else quite like them in the Islamic blade arsenal.

[Robert]

Absolutely wonderful pieces Iain, and like you I am really impressed with the one that has the single fuller. Could you possible post a few detailed photos of it as well as that lovely dagger that is shown?

Best,
Robert

[colin henshaw]

Well Iain - I really think you should be crowned "King of the Takoubas" !

[Iain]

Originally Posted by colin henshaw

Well Iain - I really think you should be crowned "King of the Takoubas" !

It's what happens when you refuse to collect anything else. The problem is once you've started getting into the scarce, old types, it's exceptional luck to pick up more than one or two good pieces a year. Something at a German auction has peeked my interest but the starting bid is pure insanity and I doubt I'll have anything new for a while.

Originally Posted by Sajen

Wow, impressive!

Thanks! Taken a lot of time to find them all.

I know there's others with some very impressive pieces as well.

[Robert]

Every item you have shown here are outstanding pieces but your new example with the single fuller and the dagger are by far my favorites. If the ones you have in the group photo are just a part of your collection, saying that I am jealous would be a huge understatement. Thank you very much for sharing these wonderful examples with us all.

Best,
Robert

[thinreadline]

Absolutely stunning Iain ...

[CharlesS]

Here is another group of daggers similar to Iain's. I have been collecting these since 1999. I think they are stunningly artful, elegant, and exotic, and ....yet, that said, they remain quite a bit of a mystery. As Iain has noted they are attributed to the Sahel/Maghreb and Senegal, but I have never been able to actually pinpoint their origin or, for that matter, even a correct ethnographic name for them. Perhaps some of the other collectors of African ethnographic arms are more can help us here.

With little collector interest in them and the relative rarity with which they show up, they have just not garnered much attention.

The two examples to the left are more recent, probably 1950 or later. The others are older, likely early 20th century.