Quote:
Originally Posted by TVV
Jim, the sword subject to this thread has a blade that seems to follow European cavalry sword patterns, but does it actually have any marks on it? Perhaps efrahjalt can answer that.
I have seen Maghrebi swords with Andrea Ferrara inscriptions, but never a Zanzibar/Oman one, and this includes the book by Clarizia, where he has published all items in the National Museum in Muscat. And this extends to all kinds of European marks, stamps and inscriptions - I am yet to see any of them on a Zanzibar nimcha hilted blade.
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Duly noted, the Andrea Ferara etc DO occur on Maghrebi examples, but as you say not on ZANZIBAR types (the examples typically with guard ring...not certain on where the ones with pitones fit in).
As noted, the subject example shown here DOES have a blade 'following' European designs.............no markings. It seems that Solingen, in numerous shops producing blades in the 19th c. is presumed to have instances of these en masse for export may have issued what might be described as 'blanks;.
This seems to have been potentially the case in numbers of kaskara type blades later in the century.
While native sword makers were notably skilled in blade production, it seems these type cavalry blades would be somewhat less likely.
Again, I am wondering where exactly such blades might have come from if not Solingen. In North Africa, I have never seen blade producing centers for full size swords, while like in Yemen and numbers of other locations, dagger, knife etc. blades were produced.
We know that India produced considerable types of full length sword blades which were of course used in the Arab sphere, but again examples of tulwars etc. or these Arab sabers do not seem (as far as I have seen) to concur with the subject example type.
Naturally Indian blades were typically 'blank' unless having spurious marks such as the 'sickle', which usually were in the north (as on paluoars of Afghan areas).
So the question remains, where did Zanzibar 'nimcha' blades come from. Burton in years prior to his "Book of the Sword" noted that the kitara swords in African regions in interior which were terminus' of 'trade' networks to and from Zanzibar, controlled by Omani traders......used GERMAN CAVALRY blades. These swords were the familiar Omani sa'if known as KATTARA but with curved blades.
SO, if the use of German cavalry blades in these regions of Africa are noted from mid 19th century onward, into swords of ZANZIBAR then why would they not occur concurrently on these nimchas.
If sword blades were being made in Yemen (or India for that matter) then why would Yemen call for nimchas being made in Zanzibar, as in the lots found in the 1980s?
Which book is it you cite by Clarizia? Perhaps that reference is something I need as clearly there are notable gaps in my awareness of these areas.