Please help to ID a mark on Yataghan.

Jim McDougall · 16th October 2011, 04:40 PM

Joe, welcome to the forum and congratulations on your inheritance. It is a wonderful thing to see the number of old weapons which seem to be being passed on, and the care with which they are being received by benefactors.
I'm glad you are working to restore and preserve these.
You are also fortunate to live in a region so rich in historical heritage, and the Siege of Malta certainly was a profoundly important event. Unfortunately these weapons post date that 16th century event, and are more likely to date in the 18th century at earliest, perhaps even into early 19th.

The sword with quillons is if course the well known sabre usually termed 'nimcha' by collectors, but more properly termed a Moroccan sa'if. While these are known to have been in use with the familiar hilt configuration in the mid 17th century, the blade appears to be of trade blade form of types out of Germany in the 18th-19th c. While these are regarded as Moroccan, they were seen often in maritime use along the North African littoral, and well known in the Meditteranean trade systems.
The yataghan also seems contemporary to the 'nimcha' and likely also of provenance to Ottoman regions in North Africa. The stamped cartouche resembles similar examples which seem to be either arsenal or acceptance stamps much like those seen often on blades of many Algerian nimchas (Briggs, 1965).

I am glad to see these swords have gone to a good home, and I think you may be assured that although not dating into the period of the Siege, they still represent a most colorful period of Meditteranean history.

All best regards,
Jim

16th October 2011, 04:40 PM	#3
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,292	Joe, welcome to the forum and congratulations on your inheritance. It is a wonderful thing to see the number of old weapons which seem to be being passed on, and the care with which they are being received by benefactors. I'm glad you are working to restore and preserve these. You are also fortunate to live in a region so rich in historical heritage, and the Siege of Malta certainly was a profoundly important event. Unfortunately these weapons post date that 16th century event, and are more likely to date in the 18th century at earliest, perhaps even into early 19th. The sword with quillons is if course the well known sabre usually termed 'nimcha' by collectors, but more properly termed a Moroccan sa'if. While these are known to have been in use with the familiar hilt configuration in the mid 17th century, the blade appears to be of trade blade form of types out of Germany in the 18th-19th c. While these are regarded as Moroccan, they were seen often in maritime use along the North African littoral, and well known in the Meditteranean trade systems. The yataghan also seems contemporary to the 'nimcha' and likely also of provenance to Ottoman regions in North Africa. The stamped cartouche resembles similar examples which seem to be either arsenal or acceptance stamps much like those seen often on blades of many Algerian nimchas (Briggs, 1965). I am glad to see these swords have gone to a good home, and I think you may be assured that although not dating into the period of the Siege, they still represent a most colorful period of Meditteranean history. All best regards, Jim