Meccan Mecca Jambiya source

[Kubur]

Following Ibraheem example and his nice threads on the Omani khanjar.

I propose a thread on the so-called Meccan / Mecca Jambiya.

Here are the threads connected to this topic:

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...meccan+jambiya
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...meccan+jambiya
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...meccan+jambiya
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...meccan+jambiya
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...meccan+jambiya

And some photos of Lawrence and his two famous Meccan jambiyas...

Please post only Meccan jambiya not all the silver jambiya made in Yemen or SA...
Thanks
Kubur

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

See http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/cele...ale-90000.html which explains what happened to the famous dagger shown above after TE Lawrence went to a sitting ..and where a picture was taken in reverse showing the Jambia curving the wrong way...Oddly he seems to have left all of his items behind ~after which, years later they were sold as part of Lady Scotts estate;The lady who took the photographs.

[Bob A]

Christie's catalogue description of the Lawrence jambiya, and price realised:


Lot 47
SILVER-GILT MOUNTED ARAB JAMBIYA DAGGER. Ornately-tooled hilt and scabbard, curved blade. 30cm long.

Price realised GBP 122,500
USD 191,713

Estimate GBP 60,000 - GBP 90,000
(USD 92,700 - USD 139,050)
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SILVER-GILT MOUNTED ARAB JAMBIYA DAGGER. Ornately-tooled hilt and scabbard, curved blade. 30cm long.

Exhibition history: National Portrait Gallery, 1988-89, no. 128, see the accompanying catalogue: Jeremy Wilson, T.E. Lawrence (National Portrait Gallery Publications, London, 1988), p.88; Imperial War Museum, 2005-6.

A MAGNIFICENT SILVER-GILT DAGGER, PRESENTED TO LAWRENCE AFTER HIS TRIUMPH AT AQABA BY SHERIF NASIR. Returning to Cairo in July 1917 from the coup de main against Aqaba that would forever gild his reputation as the daring hero of Arabia, Lawrence found himself ‘daggerless and near naked’, as he would write to Lionel Curtis over a decade later. Sherif Abdullah, elder brother of Feisal and future ruler of the Transjordan, had presented Lawrence with his first dagger of silver gilt in Wadi Ais; from then on, a dagger belted onto the waistband of the flowing Arab robes he quickly adopted in the desert was to be a near-constant presence for the duration of the war. His letter to Curtis, of the 22 February 1929, detailed the three cherished blades he had owned; his first dagger he presented as a gift to the Howeitat chiefs in the Wadi Sirhan at the urging of Sherif Nasir – cousin of Feisal and Abdullah, who commanded the expedition alongside Lawrence and Abu ibu Tayi – an investment lavishly rewarded by the support of the Bedouin in the assault on Aqaba. Returning triumphant, anxious for a replacement, Lawrence travelled quickly to Jidda and then returned to Aqaba, where Nasir presented him with the present dagger, an honorific gift. Referred to in his letter as ‘Dagger III’, for he had taken advantage of his time in Jidda to commission another – small, gold – dagger to be made in Mecca (‘Dagger II’), he lamented its loss – as one of only ‘two daggers being still alive’ – after leaving it with Kathleen Scott, and continued: ‘I will try and see Lady Hilton Young [her married name] and ask tactfully if she thinks the silver one is hers or not’. Lawrence’s small gold dagger having been sold to Curtis for £125, and subsequently presented to All Souls’ College, Oxford, the present dagger – richly ornate and weighty both in physicality and historical significance – represents THE LAST OF LAWRENCE’S ARABIAN DAGGERS KNOWN TO SURVIVE IN PRIVATE HANDS.

[Kubur]

Thank you guys
Here are the two Meccan jambiya from the MET...

[Kubur]

the one of the Benaki Museum

[Kubur]

and finally two others early Meccan jambiya 1880-1920

[Kubur]

To complete this thread, here are some recent Meccan jambiya.
The one with the black belt is very good and i will place this kind of jambiya around 1930-50ties... the two others are very recent 1970ties until 1990...

[silberschatzimsee]

Apparently the lot passed twice, i think in a row, what i have observed. I was watching it closely to get a feeling and learning the prices.

[Kubur]

Well it's a very good example. It's not a Meccan jambiya as defined by collectors, but it's a jambiya from Mecca!
I guess the Meccan jambiya was defined by the ones hold by Lawrence...
Your example has some clear Omani inspirations...
Like this one, an Arab man in Jeddah, 1918...

[Kubur]

https://www.nam.ac.uk/lawrence-arabia-man-behind-robes

[silberschatzimsee]

The 'dagger from Mecca' is for sale again. This time for half of its previous estimates.
I still think it will remain unsold. Those jewels are not inserted symmetrically and that destroys a lot in my opinion,

[mariusgmioc]

Originally Posted by silberschatzimsee

The 'dagger from Mecca' is for sale again. This time for half of its previous estimates.


I still think it will remain unsold. Those jewels are not inserted symmetrically and that destroys a lot in my opinion,

I don't think we are supposed to discuss items that are object of an active sale.

Regards,

Marius

[silberschatzimsee]

ohh ok sorry, then everybody forget my oppinion and only take the notice that it appeared again on the market

[A.alnakkas]

Originally Posted by Kubur

Thank you guys
Here are the two Meccan jambiya from the MET...

Says Madina Monawara at the back. 2nd holiest site in Islam. So Madina Jambiya?:P

[A.alnakkas]

Originally Posted by silberschatzimsee

The 'dagger from Mecca' is for sale again. This time for half of its previous estimates.
I still think it will remain unsold. Those jewels are not inserted symmetrically and that destroys a lot in my opinion,

That is because of all the other daggers posted here, this one is for sure made in Mecca by Bader family who also made the door for the Kaaba and the government issue saif and dagger.

[A.alnakkas]

Originally Posted by Kubur

Well it's a very good example. It's not a Meccan jambiya as defined by collectors, but it's a jambiya from Mecca!
I guess the Meccan jambiya was defined by the ones hold by Lawrence...
Your example has some clear Omani inspirations...
Like this one, an Arab man in Jeddah, 1918...

This particular Sharif resided in Jeddah. (message rendered pointless because I missed the last part)

[silberschatzimsee]

Originally Posted by A.alnakkas

That is because of all the other daggers posted here, this one is for sure made in Mecca by Bader family who also made the door for the Kaaba and the government issue saif and dagger.

yeah i know that but the form is apparently not from mecca as i learned now

It didnt sell twice in the last year and last week i saw it again with half of its previous estimates so i posted it again for anybody interrested + plus my personal opinion but that apparently didnt comply to the rules.

[A.alnakkas]

Originally Posted by silberschatzimsee

yeah i know that but the form is apparently not from mecca as i learned now

It didnt sell twice in the last year and last week i saw it again with half of its previous estimates so i posted it again for anybody interrested + plus my personal opinion but that apparently didnt comply to the rules.

Well you'd be surprised how many forms were worn by people who lived in Mecca. This being one of them and the example being a modern one.

[Kubur]

Originally Posted by A.alnakkas

Says Madina Monawara at the back. 2nd holiest site in Islam. So Madina Jambiya?:P

Thank you my friend
I take it, Medina, Mecca not so far

[Kubur]

Originally Posted by A.alnakkas

Well you'd be surprised how many forms were worn by people who lived in Mecca. This being one of them and the example being a modern one.

Yes

And i would like to add that even the so-called Meccan jambiya has strong similarities with jambiya from Western Yemen. It was called Meccan most probably because of the one(s) held by Lawrence. In fact it's all about Yemen and Jews... This shape expended in all the Hijaz and beyond as Hijaz was an Ottoman possession.
Best,
Kubur

[colin henshaw]

This article appeared in the London "Evening Standard" newspaper of yesterday.

[Michael Blalock]

Here is a photo of a group of Royalist fighters for the Iman with one wearing a Mecca Jambiya. I have not see many photos of these worn by Yemeni men.