Oman, Morocco or Zanzibar?

[kahnjar1]

Originally Posted by Ibrahiim al Balooshi

Salaams...Looks like a Magrebi Nimcha. Ibrahiim.

NOT Magreb. The Magreb (Moroccan) has the dropping quillons and no D "guard"
Stu

[A.alnakkas]

What about this type?

http://www.oriental-arms.com/photos.php?id=3864

[kahnjar1]

Originally Posted by A.alnakkas

What about this type?

http://www.oriental-arms.com/photos.php?id=3864

Zanzibar IMHO. There is also another on this site.
Stu

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Originally Posted by A.alnakkas

What about this type?

http://www.oriental-arms.com/photos.php?id=3864

Eid Mubarak! Salaams from Buraimi !! Kind regards from the entire team !! We hope you are well . Actually we hope you get a chance to pop over to the Tareq Rajeb Museum in Kuwait as they have a brilliant collection of Arabian Arms and even an old Omani Original Kattara from me years ago. I looked at the link you post and sure enough it is Yemeni. It is my advice that The Yemeni Nimcha is a style in its own right as are the Magrebi, Algerian, Saudia, Zanzibari and Sri Lankan versions. The Yemeni Nimcha.

Regards Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

[kahnjar1]

Originally Posted by Ibrahiim al Balooshi

Eid Mubarak! Salaams from Buraimi !! Kind regards from the entire team !! We hope you are well . Actually we hope you get a chance to pop over to the Tareq Rajeb Museum in Kuwait as they have a brilliant collection of Arabian Arms and even an old Omani Original Kattara from me years ago. I looked at the link you post and sure enough it is Yemeni. It is my advice that The Yemeni Nimcha is a style in its own right as are the Magrebi, Algerian, Saudia, Zanzibari and Sri Lankan versions. The Yemeni Nimcha.

Regards Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

Sorry I do not agree as to Yemeni for this. Artzi attributes this to Zanzibar, although not conclusively, and I believe with the knowledge he has it is likely to be correct. I have never ever seen any reference to a "Yemeni Nimcha", with a hilt even remotely resembling this style. Any Yemeni swords I have seen, either "in the flesh" or in books are like the attached pic and are called Sayf.

[TVV]

Originally Posted by kahnjar1

Sorry I do not agree as to Yemeni for this. Artzi attributes this to Zanzibar, although not conclusively, and I believe with the knowledge he has it is likely to be correct. I have never ever seen any reference to a "Yemeni Nimcha", with a hilt even remotely resembling this style. Any Yemeni swords I have seen, either "in the flesh" or in books are like the attached pic and are called Sayf.

This may sound sacrilegious, but even Artzi, despite having forgotten more about swords than I will ever know, can be wrong sometimes. For example, there is a sboula that he attributed to Zanzibar, despite it being a Maghrebi weapon.

I am attaching a picture of a (rather ugly) hilt, which I believe is Yemeni in origin. The blade is Ethiopian, and we know that a lot of Ethiopian swords were imported in Yemen, because of their rhino hilts. The hilts were reworked to be used on jambiyas, while the blades were rehilted, sometimes in a very crude manner.

I acquired the sword from an Egyptian gentleman residing in Saudi Arabia, but the hilt style is unlikely to be Saudi, and I have to assume that it must have been imported there from a neighboring country. Again, Yemen makes a lot more sense than Zanzibar.

I do therefore believe that the hilts of this style with a straight grip, an a vestigial quillon are Yemeni and later, probably dating back to the middle of the 20th century.

Your sword Stu, on the other hand, has a slightly bent grip and its hilt looks to be of earlier and much nicer manufacture. Obviously, the above observations do not apply to it.

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Originally Posted by TVV

This may sound sacrilegious, but even Artzi, despite having forgotten more about swords than I will ever know, can be wrong sometimes. For example, there is a sboula that he attributed to Zanzibar, despite it being a Maghrebi weapon.

I am attaching a picture of a (rather ugly) hilt, which I believe is Yemeni in origin. The blade is Ethiopian, and we know that a lot of Ethiopian swords were imported in Yemen, because of their rhino hilts. The hilts were reworked to be used on jambiyas, while the blades were rehilted, sometimes in a very crude manner.

I acquired the sword from an Egyptian gentleman residing in Saudi Arabia, but the hilt style is unlikely to be Saudi, and I have to assume that it must have been imported there from a neighboring country. Again, Yemen makes a lot more sense than Zanzibar.

I do therefore believe that the hilts of this style with a straight grip, an a vestigial quillon are Yemeni and later, probably dating back to the middle of the 20th century.

Your sword Stu, on the other hand, has a slightly bent grip and its hilt looks to be of earlier and much nicer manufacture. Obviously, the above observations do not apply to it.

Salaams, Great example of a Nimcha hilt which has been almost totally butchered and fitted to the Ethiopian (German) blade. These hilts though attributed to Zanzibar could in my opinion have been knocked up in Yemen easily. I think it is generally given the nod that Saudia Nimcha hilts have a straight crossguard often with a silvered hilt... Regards Ibrahiim.

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Originally Posted by kahnjar1

Sorry I do not agree as to Yemeni for this. Artzi attributes this to Zanzibar, although not conclusively, and I believe with the knowledge he has it is likely to be correct. I have never ever seen any reference to a "Yemeni Nimcha", with a hilt even remotely resembling this style. Any Yemeni swords I have seen, either "in the flesh" or in books are like the attached pic and are called Sayf.

Salaams, There are many like this in Muscat said to be Yemeni. Ok country of origin ? Your Nimcha is possibly Zanzibari and quite likely with a German blade (e.g. Wilhelm Clauberg &Cie. of Solingen Germany) Though for that factory look for the knight stamp.. The D guard is an apparent give away for one style of Zanzibari hilt. This must mean that there are a number of Zanzibari styles under the banner "Nimcha" since some hilts dont have D guards. (see note below) The history books certainly bear that out as does this forum ! I see so many Nimchas in Oman all with Yemen as the origin and most are like yours though the quality of examples I've seen is poor. There are half a dozen in a souk shop just near me in Buraimi (the store owner is Yemeni) but the quality is low.
Does this mean that all Nimchas in the Yemen are Zanzibari? The fact that it has not entered the history books does not surprise me one bit. There are many areas in the field of ethnographic weapons that are either not yet fully catalogued in this region e.g. The Hadramaut link. The link between Omani and Yemeni Khanjars..The Mamluke Kattara link ... Axes of the Musandam peninsula...The Kastane Sri Lankan link... and so on..Once a sword becomes adopted by a nation or group it is generally accepted as passing into that areas "menu of weapons"; take for example the Omani Kattara which it can be argued is a European trade blade circa 17th C. It puzzles me why the Zanzibari Nimcha developed a D guard which looks like a very European structure ... Perhaps the Portuguese dreamed that one up ?...Could it be that this version went into the Zanzibar hub the long way around via The Cape with the Portuguese Dutch or English whereas the other derivatives spread in via the Red Sea?

Regards, Ibrahiim.

Note; While it is agreed that the D guard is a Zanzibari type, Buttin places more than 20 Nimcha on his plate at # 26 (Kurt) some with D guards some without. # 23 illustrates what I believe to be perhaps the "Iconic" Zanzibari version without a D.

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Originally Posted by kahnjar1

Sorry I do not agree as to Yemeni for this. Artzi attributes this to Zanzibar, although not conclusively, and I believe with the knowledge he has it is likely to be correct. I have never ever seen any reference to a "Yemeni Nimcha", with a hilt even remotely resembling this style. Any Yemeni swords I have seen, either "in the flesh" or in books are like the attached pic and are called Sayf.

Salaams,
There is a lot of conjecture about the hawkshead Yemeni sayf which may be derived from one of the Nimcha Hilts see Buttin 1007 on the plate earlier by Kurt #26.. or is this coincidental or even the other way round..Perhaps the hawklike head of the Shashka is responsible?
If it is the case that the Nimcha gave rise to the Yemeni Hawkshead then it follows that it too is a Nimcha variant. Ibrahiim.

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Originally Posted by kahnjar1

NOT Magreb. The Magreb (Moroccan) has the dropping quillons and no D "guard"
Stu

Salaams Stu ~ Very good point ! The D Guard . Not Magreb,, agreed . Not Zanzibar either . Its a Yemeni Nimcha. The list of countries that have Nimcha specific styles grows longer. Magreb, Algeria, Saudia, Zanzibar, Sri Lanka, and the one which I forgot about ...The Yemeni Nimcha.
Louis Pierre... kind regards and thank you for the pictures and comparisons and I agree the door to the east remains wide open in this regard.
Kurt ... Salaams and your pictures of the Zanzibar perfect style at #1 and # 23 are superb.

Regards Ibrahim al Balooshi.