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#1 |
Member
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Poland, Warsaw
Posts: 33
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Hi all!
I've watched the discussions here since a long time, and now I need your help. I've just obtained this piece. It's 33,2 cm long; on both sides of the blade there are incised lines, possibly originally all of them inlaid with copper (now most of it missing); next to the lines square brass plates with incised geometrical ornament are fixed on both sides of the blade. The trapezoid element between the blade and the hilt is rather loosely fitted (as is the hilt itself) and on one side, along the edges, it has lines inlaid with copper wire (?). The hilt is made of a dark wood, studded with elements made of silver (or silver coloured) wire. The pommel consist of alternating bone, copper, brass and wooden elements. The construction of the pommel reminds Tuareg daggers - possibly this could be a clue? The provenance of this piece cannot help: it comes reportedly from somewhere in Germany, but this information is by no means certain. |
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#2 |
Member
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Virginia
Posts: 520
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Interesting piece the fittings do look Taureg but the blade looks similar to a Koummya. I look forward to seeing what it turns out to be
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#3 | |
Member
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Poland, Warsaw
Posts: 33
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#4 |
EAAF Staff
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Upstate New York, USA
Posts: 910
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For me the Moroccan and Tuareg influences are strong, so I'd tend to guess that it is a variant of a koummya, likely from well inland and over the Atlas mountains, where a Tuareg influence would be expected.
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#5 |
Member
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Caracas - Venezuela
Posts: 15
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Brass fittings and silver or white metal inlay points toward Moroccan-Tuareg influence, handle probably made of ebony.
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#6 |
Member
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Poland, Warsaw
Posts: 33
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As for the handle, it doesn't seem to be of ebony, the wood resembles rather mahogany. And concerning the blade, what about its almost-double curve? I must confess that I haven't seen such kind of koummaya. Does it exist?
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#7 |
Member
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: College Park, MD
Posts: 186
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The blade is suggestive of a koummya, as is the pommel, albeit a very schematic representation of the Moroccan prototype.
The brass pommel cap or finial looks something like those on many Manding swords. Perhaps the source is to the south, perhaps Mali, where a lot of Tuareg weapons were produced, but near enough to Moroccan and Mandingo influences (there are Mandingoes in Mali, for example)? |
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#8 |
Member
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Poland, Warsaw
Posts: 33
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I've had a feeling that I saw something similar, and here it is:
http://www.vikingsword.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/000809.html Both pieces share a common type of pommel (and of the hilt, in a way) that slightly resembles that of a gladius. Maybe this type of daggers originated from an area closer to ancient Roman military camps where Roman weapons could have been seen by manufacturers? |
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#9 |
Member
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: College Park, MD
Posts: 186
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here's a comparable knife just auctioned on eBay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...ADME:B:WN:US:1 |
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#10 |
Member
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Poland, Warsaw
Posts: 33
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Thank you for your comments. Does anyone know which kind of scabbard was used for this particular type of dagger?
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