A little Sahel/Maghreb panoply...

[CharlesS]

Iain,

Lovely pieces. The takoubas look to have quality and sturdier than usual blades. Both are quite nice!

I have heard of the dagger style being referenced to Senegal, but have never seen a stitch of written or illustrated evidence. I think those dagger types are lovely and elegant. They may borrow a little from the Moroccan koummya, but there is nothing else quite like them in the Islamic blade arsenal.

[Robert]

Absolutely wonderful pieces Iain, and like you I am really impressed with the one that has the single fuller. Could you possible post a few detailed photos of it as well as that lovely dagger that is shown?

Best,
Robert

[Iain]

Thanks for the comments guys.

First the dagger, yes I've heard Senegal as well. That would be the northern section as I understand it, moving up into Mauritania. This area is a melting pot of Berber, Arab and other influences like Wolof. What you see I think is a result of that, showing a bit of Berber/Moroccan influence for sure as Charles points out.

(I apologize in advance for the less than perfect images, too sunny out today in my garden!)

[Iain]

Next up the triple fuller takouba. It's had a hard life! But it's one of the truly old ones with bit sturdy iron pommel and great balance.

Interestingly this one never had brass guard plates, the one side, the iron plate is decorated. Which is rather unusual.

[Iain]

Finally the single fuller... Something I mentioned before I was quite excited to get.

This one is truly special and joins a small group of swords I'm fortunate enough to own with very old blades.

This has a "fly" stamp associated with Italy and in particular schiavona at the base of the blade. The remains of an inlaid running wolf (latten) can be seen in the fuller.

For a takouba the entire thing is extremely unusual with a sharp tip and rare guard and pommel form as well as a deeply engraved cross in the hilt.

[Iain]

And finally because of a comment from Charles:

Lovely pieces. The takoubas look to have quality and sturdier than usual blades. Both are quite nice!

I thought I'd post a group shot of a few of these 'sturdy' takouba with similar pommel styles. I think it's a great reminder that often times in ethnographic arms later examples really do serve more of a fashion/ceremonial role. But there are true battle worthy examples lurking out there!

These are just a few I managed to group together, there are more, but trying to fit these into one shot in was exhausting enough.

[Sajen]

Originally Posted by Iain

These are just a few I managed to group together, there are more, but trying to fit these into one shot in was exhausting enough.

Wow, impressive!