This weapon offers a chance to look at some detective work on the construction … There are two possible locations ...Dhofar or Sharqiyya and the material which is Rhino likely taken from an earlier weapon as a rehilt job. There are old silver parts appearing to be suggesting turned down silver projections at the ears of the pommel but they are from an old Khanjar as miniature Terrs or shields usually over the end rings on the Khanjar. The silver is in the Omani fashion and is pure silver not mixed with copper...The blade is a replacement as is the brand new scabbard I will show later...

Heres the full Monty; Here's the full Monty; This weapon has had a total rebuild but is something of a train crash using parts of other weapons unrelated to each other thus the difficulty of placing it … despite a fully rebuilt, brand new, scabbard. It thus achieves the stamp "Runt" yet has a degree of charm about it. Who knows maybe someone will rebuild the weapon sympathetic to the original style whatever that was or is... :shrug:

:shrug:

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A reminder of the African Giraffe head horn of the male of (the endangered)species. (A.K.A. Zraf Hindi translatable as Rhino/Giraffe of India) This hilt not of silver plate but of thousands of tiny individual hammered in silver nails giving a heavyweight feel to this hilt. It was my view that this pinning decoration mimicked the grain of Rhino Horn when viewed from the pommel end under sharp torchlight... This colour of giraffe horn is very light almost olive and can vary up to a dense dark brown shade...occasionally streaked through with light bands. Please see #318 above. :shrug:

Another Khanjar example...Khanjars are available in single double or triple combinations depending how much you want to spend and a vast choice of matched belts can be made ...Here are a few short belt selection which would be matched with a long belt … :shrug:

This is a first. I have never seen such a straight forward Omani Dhakiliyyah (Interior) new Khanjar. The architecture is superb, precise and exact for a working dagger. No decoration other than the basics...simple yet effective.. Everything right historically here … even a simple belt. Whoever made this weapon knows his Interior style. :shrug:

A most unusual looking Khanjar. So what is it? :shrug:

This is a 4 ringer Omani Khanjar from Muscat. Remember that it was the hilt that marked the style as "Royal" ...Which this is! The body is constructed using silver wound and gold wound cord plus some silver decoration. The hilt is Busaidi form ...Thus a Royal Khanjar.

Ibrahiim,

Thank you so much for sharing these magnificent khanjars. They are truly works of art not just ethnographic weapons. It seems that their quality has increased over time. I have a few questions that would enhance my appreciation of them.

What % silver alloy is used?

Are the blades, while excellent, considered a commodity, as the vehicle that gives the silver work a weapon quality?

Range of man-hours to make a complete first-class outfit: grip, scabbard and belt?

Range of retail prices for the complete first-class outfit?

Market? Omanis or export to Gulf states or local visitors? I imagine that they would be a prestige item to be worn only on special occasions as opposed to daily dress.

Does Oman have any regulations to prohibit, control or otherwise manage the importation and use of giraffe horn?

Best regards,
Ed

Salaams Ed Great questions and here goes~

The Silver is highest grade obtainable and used to be around the 92% which was why they used Maria Theresa Thalers melted down . The other source is silver on the international market again of the highest quality. They import a lot from China but also have their own mines at Sohar .. Megan ...Silver extracted as they dig out copper … Ingots can be purchased there and again top quality stuff . The other source has always been traditionally from a ladys dowry when she dies and since that is always 100% top quality it was a way of retaining a degree of purity in silver. Silver when it is mixed with other metals is dull and lifeless but harder and lasts longer . Pure silver goes into a patina all of its own as it oxidises fast.

CITES is in effect here and the rules are strict for use of hilt material. It amazes me why more use is not made of mammoth and other excellent materials and I am just about to show a white material composite fibrous ceramic that looks and feels like Ivory and takes all the pins like the real thing. Regretably not everyone will take notice of the dwindling stocks of these wild animals. Giraffe horn comes off dead adult African giraffes usually fully grown adult males. The fact is they are protected in law.

Price I cant speak about but the top makers can demand high end valuations and any that are low priced are usually not original Omani crafted..It is quite incredible that the main tools are still a six inch nail and a toffee hammer!

Usually make time is about a month ...It varies on the degree of decoration...The maker will make the belt and scabbard and hilt but may also farm out parts to other makers so you can have a master scabbard maker and a belt maker a hundred or more miles apart... The maker just puts them together although there are makers that can do the whole thing themselves.

The Blade is the most important part. The inspection of a blade looks quite ridiculous ! Taste smell musical note when struck !! So far as I can tell all blades are imported. It is said that meteorite metal is the best ...though not easy to find? :) New products include Russian blades nicely made in some type of wootz or even only a surface decoration ?

Most Omani Khanjars go to the demand in Oman as other countries close by have their own styles like UAE Bahrain Saudia and Yemen thus the tradition is very strong right here. Naturally the network of Arabian style souks presents Omani work around the region but its best market is right here at home. Millions of tourists also have a massive world market effect.


The weapon is Iconic and the badge of office of Omani heads of family thus can be worn at any time for any occasion by heads of state or men of any age including Eids, weddings, tribal and other meetings or just worn to go down the souk...

A note here in support of new materials for hilts where I show a poly ceramic form that looks exactly like Ivory and accepts silver nails in the same way without cracking and does not break when dropped. :shrug:

Thanks for the thoughtful answers. They round out the khanjar's role within its social context.

Some thought has been put into the belt ...an old style to match this set. :shrug:

Here are some old belts as examples ~

A Word on Blades. (#257 also Refers.)

The excellent work at Omanisilver.com mentions Omani Khanjar Blades as being historically imported from Solingen and as essentially basic blades. Indeed I have seldom seen (until recently) examples of anything other than standard basic quality except on the odd occasion of a Wootz derivative turning up. I know of one Russian importer who specializes in such blades. I have also heard of mysterious blades made from falling meteorites etc etc. The process local people go through is also quite amazing with taste smell and musical note when struck with a flicked finger nail and whether or not a blade and khanjar can be lifted by the very point of the blade between finger and thumb...
Therefor since these are passed down structures I suggest that these methods are mythical (although interesting) . I have never actually seen a failed blade...After all their main purpose is fairly simple thus a basic blade is actually fine.

Blades below from Khanjar Shops. One illustrates blades with some degree of treatment either to the surface or Wootz while the other are the more common form; simple and basic.

Much of the designs used in decorating Omani Khanjars are not recorded and in fact the techniques are mainly done with a hammer and a 6 inch nail thus students trying to observe a technique often cannot find research …

There isn't any\much except here at EAA and on the remarkable website at http://www.khanjar.om/Materials.html.

Here are some further clues in Silver Omani Jewellery pieces … Please see https://britishmuseum.org/pdf/BMTRB_..._and_Meeks.pdf

Reference:
A. http://www.khanjar.om/Types.html



I have been on the lookout for a certain style of Yemeni dagger which I knew was almost identical to a rarely seen omani variant from the Dhofar Region. Here it is and you may note the main giveaway is the belt...a simple leather style but in the case of the scabbard another hint to its origin using script hammered in near the top. The decorative silver almost birdlike winged structure decorates the top half of the scabbard. The hilt appears to be high density fibre of some sort..Reference A shows the Omani variant and under three different names usually Genoobi (Southern) is used for this style.

A YEMENI DAGGER ON A YEMENI BELT IN OMAN.

This one is quite remarkable for its superb balance in design and particularly the crown at the end of the scabbard and the decoration at the lower hilt and on the top part of the scabbard which are all matching in a beautiful scroll style with blackened pattern almost in the style of neillo.
my instinct says a dagger from the Interior...because of all the leather below the belt...The design on the lower scabbard is similar to human form amulets from Adam in the Dhakilliyya...The interior.

It may be remembered that the Royal Khanjar is formed by a Royal Hilt ...Not by the number of rings or the scabbard style but by the Hilt Form so what is this? :shrug:

It is a Royal Khanjar.

(#327 SHOWS A SIMILAR SCABBARD WITH A LOT OF LEATHER SHOWING MARKING IT AS AN INTERIOR WEAPON... THE DHAKILLIYA)

SEE THE VARIETY IN COLOUR ON THESE HILTS WHICH ARE AFRICAN GIRAFFE... :shrug:

A Major breakthrough has been developed in reproduction hilts using horsehair ...virtually identical to a Rhino and I suspect very similar to Giraffe... please see the document covered by Mi, R., Shao, Z.Z. & Vollrath, F. Creating artificial Rhino Horns from Horse Hair. Sci Rep 9, 16233 (2019) doi:10.1038/s41598-019-52527-5 at


https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-52527-5

Occasionally I see designs that I seem to recognize but that I have never seen applied on khanjars ~ this is one of them and is both dramatic and well balanced ...but what is the Scabbard design from?

(The writing simply says this is already sold)

Interesting the variety of giraffe grips.

Salaams Battara, In order of priority it is something like Rhino, Ivory, Giraffe, scented wood, olive then plastic....then it deteriorates dramatically to bog standard wood ..there may be the odd horn I haven't seen but the top three have dominated hilts for probably centuries. The confusion now lifted between rhino and giraffe and the name puzzle described earlier has also thrown collectors for ages. The point about these hilts is that Giraffe horn takes all the pins a rhino hilt would take but is duller under light than Rhino...
My earlier note outlines the breakthrough in the use of treated horsehair (tail hair) which is just as good as Rhino and Giraffe but a fraction of the price could set a precedent..although some would say it makes no difference. I would like to see it tried and an example launched for all to see.

The scabbard cover next to the chape (Qub'a ?) reminds me of a the stylised christian fish symbol.
Regards
Richard

There are many examples of rectangular geometry in Omani silver work and in the khanjar waist belt decoration and on Khanjar scabbards . Below I show one stylistic signature from Said the Great that seems to suggest a possible link...I add similar sword hilt geometric designs and in the rectangular silver adornment from the region of south Nizwa; Adam in a style of Djinn often seen on necklaces; protecting the wearer.

I thought this Omani Khanjar looked well balanced and nicely worked>>> It came with a few clues such as the hilt in Zraff Afrique which as you know is Rhino . It is a post 1970 weapon as it has the Omani Crest stamped on the belt links... :shrug:

Here is an unusual Omani Khanjar with a weave in gilded cord to the main curve in the Scabbard See 328 for a silvered cord weave. For similar silver work see 1 27 107 128 144 203 223 236 268 … here on thread>
this appears as quite unusual as this is a 4 Ringer.

WHAT IS IT CALLED AND WHAT KIND OF HILT WILL IT CARRY?? :shrug:

The above khanjar scabbard appears to be ready to accept The Al Saidi Dagger even though it is a 4 ringer... Remember that Royal Al Saidi Khanjars are designated by the hilt although it is often assumed there is influence in the scabbard as well...but technically the scabbard is nothing to do with it...Only the Hilt. Thus scabards are 4or 7 rings and there are some khanjars with more and even some with two) The simple fact is that before this style was invented by one of the rulers wives in about 1830 the Muscat khanjar had 7 rings and that the scabbard was adorned as it is today and unchanged... the only redone item or component was the hilt said to incorporate Indian design elements … the new fresh look said to have been done to brighten the day of the ruler. you may all remember that something similar happened in the sayf yemaani when it was iconized ..with a similar hilt.

It stands to reason therefor that the apparently fancy scabbard does not designate al saidi khanjar born out by simply looking at 347 which has that scabbard but not the hilt.. so it is probably a Muscat weapon...

Please see http://www.khanjar.om/Materials.html for an exacting description of coloured yarn useage in these scabbards ….and other materials.

I have never seen one of these variants with quite the hilt decoration and shape ...thus I should be quiet and take your ideas..perhaps http://www.khanjar.om/Materials.html has some clue to the style?

Having looked at this odd species I assume the hilt simply isn't finished or that the new owner will round off the pommel or go for a Tee shaped style instead..What I do know is the material of the hilt .. It's Giraffe or as it has been called for centuries Zraff Hindi which roughly means Indian Rhino...which of course we now realise actually means African Giraffe. :shrug:

Just a note to echo what is a relatively new type of fastener and buckle holder, often seen with the post 1970 Omani emblem of two curved bladed swords which appeared at about the same time as the demise of Saaid the Great in 1856 and via Zanzibar and combined with the Omani Khanjar but not used as an emblem until 1970 on the takeover by the previous ruler.

The belt with the dominant black leather showing more likely to be associated with a UAE dagger but may be seen on interior weapons Dhakiliyya...an area linked in history in this part of the world..The Weapon is an Omani Bussaidi Royal Khanjar. :shrug:

I wanted to revisit this peculiar weapon which resembles its Yemeni cousin at #337 yet is distinct in two quite different regions in Oman ...The Dhofar region around Salalah in Southern Oman and the Sharqiyyah in the East of Oman...#350. all the above may usually be seen on a simple leather belt although I have seen Omani items on a silvered belt. The Yemeni variant is also often inscribed with script on either the front or back. I have also see a second belt on the Omani weapon with bullet slots often for Martini Henry Ammo.
In the weapons illustrated you can notice the central spine of the blade flanked by two other fullers not normally seen on other blades. It is assumed these are imported as are 99% of Omani Khanjar blades either from Solingen Germany or perhaps India or Yemen. :shrug:

Here I place some pictures of the new tendency to build multiple daggers around the same scabbard. There is no hard and fast rule on this method although the Genoobi form will not fit the profile of the usual Northern Omani hilt. What is interesting is the use of the Royal "Busaidi" hilt on either the 7 ringer or 4 ringer scabbard... and since it is the hilt that determines that style not the scabbard; this is entirely correct.
It may also be noted that in creating the al Busaidi hilt on the old Omani Battle Sword or Saif Yemaani it is only the hilt which is given that configuration in circa 1840 AD which determines its form... The same applies to the Busaidi Khanjar... Just the hilt! :shrug:

Suri Khanjar (From Sur)
 

This smaller and typically well balanced Weapon is from the famous coastal city of Sur. The pattern is chequered in silver geometry sewed onto the leather scabbard . The belt outer rings are rather in the newer fashion of twisted silver decoration ...Some like ..others don't. The hilt is Giraffe horn. :shrug:

On blades which you would think everything that could be written has been written there is scarce proof absolute of the origin of manufacture... Suffice to say however is that the point of manufacture was probably split between Sanaa in Yemen and India and Persia.

There is support in some quarters that German blades entered the equation and I cannot say why not although no blades I have seen confirm nor deny this possibility and none I have ever seen are struck with makers marks as such.

It is a fact that Omani Khanjar blades have no marks stamped or chiseled into them. Some as seen on these pages have variation in the central raised rib in that some have flanking grooves placed either side of the main rib seen at #354 while some have three distinct ribs like this one below called The One with three (grooves?)... a parallel description of an Omani sword with three of these..

And so for now we go with the idea of Persia, India, Yemen and Germany as the origin of provision of Omani Khanjar blades although I have heard rumours that some were locally made and some were made from meteorites...and others from Johor or wootz material (this is true in part because Russian blades in wootz are today available)...Personally however, I think myths may have crept into the mix but record this post as "interesting" for later study and confirmation. :shrug:

It's interesting that all the blades seem to have the same dimensions and curve profile. Also, except for the Royal hilted the scabbard is the seat of distinctive design and embellishment as well as amounts of labor and silver (cost).

What is the name and significance of the conical pieces next to the rings?

Thanks for sharing!!!

Ed

Reference:
A. http://www.khanjar.om/Materials.html
B. http://omanisilver.com

Thank you Ed, The regional general designs are tuned to a central likeness with specific designs from area to area. The linked websites of omanisilver.com and the website with the Omani Khanjar thesis break these down from each region as seen at references above.…

The conical shapes have two names hat or shield of which I prefer to choose the latter; Terrs… In the Khanjar dance a Shield or Terrs is used in the performance which is in the traditions or Funoon.

We know that the main traded items entering the Zanzibar hub were Slaves ..Rhino Horn and hides and Ivory. It has been quite difficult to obtain Ivory Khanjar examples with specific high definition pictures but luckily we have a couple for forum. High density plastic has been used and makes a reasonable substitute however here is the real thing and we can only hope more substitute materials can step up such as Mamoth ?… :shrug: