The Omani Khanjar

Ibrahiim al Balooshi · 6th November 2018, 01:23 PM

This is a remarkable Omani Khanjar of quite some age which if it is what I think it is may be one of the oldest I have seen to date perhaps from the al Busayyidi dynasty of Saiid bin Sultan who ruled 1804 to 1856 and who died on board a warship off Zanzibar .. a country he absorbed as part of Oman ..in fact he made it the capital through Stonetown Zanzibar and vastly important as a herb growing, slavery and centre and hub of the trade in Ivory and Rhino and other commodities...

One of his wives designed a Khanjar known as The Busaidi Dagger but before that there was a dagger quite similar ...I think this style with its seven rings and straight T shaped hilt (this one is broken unequally on both ears so it looked different in its younger days.) Post 1 looks at these Royal Busaidi weapons . The Richardson and Dorr has a similar weapon to this which I will dig out later.

Thus actually the Muscat Dagger had a T shaped hilt normal across much of Oman and carried 7 rings which Sheherezad copied onto the Royal item and with a very Indian design lavish and highly decorated hilt. It was the Hilt which she brought to the design for the Royal Khanjar the 7 rings were already here...on the Muscat item... Interestingly this weapon carries 5 inner rings of silver and two outer rings of what looks like copper or brass... I have no idea why but there is on this weapon a really important play with the geometric figure 5...which I will cover here..

5 is very lucky as a Talismanic figure in many cultures... In Oman it is related to the hand of Fatimah (the five fingers of) and here unlike in say Morrocco where an actual hand is fashioned in their jewellery it is represented by a geometric form like a figure 5 in dominos . This is often the décor on lucky charm boxes (Hirz) worn as a neck pendant.
See your last picture ...above the rings the section with figure 5s starting with a big silver dot in the centre there are many exploding figure 5 geometries working outwards ...They are hand of Fatimah 5s. Along the base of the shabak or triangular net construction are 5 silver additions . I note also that the Rings are also 5 in number on the inner belt...and other 5 geometries in the lower section .

The blade is very old going by the wear and like other parts of any khanjar could be from an even earlier weapon...To the back of the hilt is a strengthener of a style I have never seen; probably fashioned to save the hilt from disintegrating... It may have cracked I cannot tell...but a fixing like this probably means the hilt was an heirloom and the owner wanted it kept together as such. The material looks like Rhino.

See 165 for similar outer rings on a Royal Khanjar but one extra point Your Khanjar has very peculiar fixings reflected in the Quba at the end of these 7 dot flowers . The fixings between the rings follow this pattern. Please see 168 for similar fixings between the rings. 168 is the dagger from the Richardson and Dorr I was talking about earlier... This to my eye pinpoints the weapon much more clearly as described.

There is discussion here as to whether it is from the Sharqiyyah or has Yemeni style in its silver work and so on but to me it follows the structure and description of The Muscat Khanjar.

Tatyana Dianova · 7th November 2018, 08:47 AM

Hello Ibrahiim,
Thank you for the great and interesting analysis! I hope this example will help your research!

Ibrahiim al Balooshi · 7th November 2018, 01:56 PM

Showing the weapon around to associates I often get the call that this is a Busaidi Khanjar if you cover the hilt with one hand they will say 'Saiidi Khanjar then show the hilt they say saifaani! Some like their Royal Daggers like this !! at which point it becomes almost a personal preference . Saifaani being a Rhino horn type. Very much favoured in the past. Khanjar descriptions often mingle between styles and there are many variations add ons and subtractions...So technically this is a Saifaani 'Saiidi .
Thanks for your kind words.

Ibrahiim al Balooshi · 12th November 2018, 04:48 PM

Reference;
A. Omanisilver.com/contents/en-us/d365_Omani_khanjar.html

Some detail on the subject of Khanjar blades which tend to get sidelined and I have to admit not a great deal is available. This group all have some sort of wootz decoration whereas the majority are steel non wootz.

The reference above mentions earlier blades as being from Europe or Iran in its Von Oppenheimer book but that the British Museum suggests blades made in Sanaa were used in the collection of Ingrams Khanjars. (Harold Ingrams was a famous historian and chief secretary at Zanzibar in the early 20thC) I think all regions in the hub may have been responsible as well as some Omani production.

Richard G · 12th November 2018, 07:04 PM

I am always surprised at how little tang there is on these blades.
Regards
Richard

Ibrahiim al Balooshi · 13th November 2018, 01:21 PM

It baffles me as well! Perhaps the vibrations through a longer tang would wreck the hilt? The only thing holding the blade in the hilt is the short tang and some glue and to stop the blade twisting a small bit of the broad blade slots in. Blades dropping out is quite common.

Ibrahiim al Balooshi · 14th November 2018, 03:01 PM

I should log in the usual load of normal lower quality blades available at most workshops and although some do now carry a few wootz examples these are the blade types normally seen. On being asked the shop people usually either don't know where they are obtained or say India; Rajastan

6th November 2018, 01:23 PM	#1
Ibrahiim al Balooshi Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Buraimi Oman, on the border with the UAE Posts: 4,408	This is a remarkable Omani Khanjar of quite some age which if it is what I think it is may be one of the oldest I have seen to date perhaps from the al Busayyidi dynasty of Saiid bin Sultan who ruled 1804 to 1856 and who died on board a warship off Zanzibar .. a country he absorbed as part of Oman ..in fact he made it the capital through Stonetown Zanzibar and vastly important as a herb growing, slavery and centre and hub of the trade in Ivory and Rhino and other commodities... One of his wives designed a Khanjar known as The Busaidi Dagger but before that there was a dagger quite similar ...I think this style with its seven rings and straight T shaped hilt (this one is broken unequally on both ears so it looked different in its younger days.) Post 1 looks at these Royal Busaidi weapons . The Richardson and Dorr has a similar weapon to this which I will dig out later. Thus actually the Muscat Dagger had a T shaped hilt normal across much of Oman and carried 7 rings which Sheherezad copied onto the Royal item and with a very Indian design lavish and highly decorated hilt. It was the Hilt which she brought to the design for the Royal Khanjar the 7 rings were already here...on the Muscat item... Interestingly this weapon carries 5 inner rings of silver and two outer rings of what looks like copper or brass... I have no idea why but there is on this weapon a really important play with the geometric figure 5...which I will cover here.. 5 is very lucky as a Talismanic figure in many cultures... In Oman it is related to the hand of Fatimah (the five fingers of) and here unlike in say Morrocco where an actual hand is fashioned in their jewellery it is represented by a geometric form like a figure 5 in dominos . This is often the décor on lucky charm boxes (Hirz) worn as a neck pendant. See your last picture ...above the rings the section with figure 5s starting with a big silver dot in the centre there are many exploding figure 5 geometries working outwards ...They are hand of Fatimah 5s. Along the base of the shabak or triangular net construction are 5 silver additions . I note also that the Rings are also 5 in number on the inner belt...and other 5 geometries in the lower section . The blade is very old going by the wear and like other parts of any khanjar could be from an even earlier weapon...To the back of the hilt is a strengthener of a style I have never seen; probably fashioned to save the hilt from disintegrating... It may have cracked I cannot tell...but a fixing like this probably means the hilt was an heirloom and the owner wanted it kept together as such. The material looks like Rhino. See 165 for similar outer rings on a Royal Khanjar but one extra point Your Khanjar has very peculiar fixings reflected in the Quba at the end of these 7 dot flowers . The fixings between the rings follow this pattern. Please see 168 for similar fixings between the rings. 168 is the dagger from the Richardson and Dorr I was talking about earlier... This to my eye pinpoints the weapon much more clearly as described. There is discussion here as to whether it is from the Sharqiyyah or has Yemeni style in its silver work and so on but to me it follows the structure and description of The Muscat Khanjar. Last edited by Ibrahiim al Balooshi; 6th November 2018 at 01:53 PM.

12th November 2018, 04:48 PM	#4
Ibrahiim al Balooshi Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Buraimi Oman, on the border with the UAE Posts: 4,408	Reference; A. Omanisilver.com/contents/en-us/d365_Omani_khanjar.html Some detail on the subject of Khanjar blades which tend to get sidelined and I have to admit not a great deal is available. This group all have some sort of wootz decoration whereas the majority are steel non wootz. The reference above mentions earlier blades as being from Europe or Iran in its Von Oppenheimer book but that the British Museum suggests blades made in Sanaa were used in the collection of Ingrams Khanjars. (Harold Ingrams was a famous historian and chief secretary at Zanzibar in the early 20thC) I think all regions in the hub may have been responsible as well as some Omani production. Attached Images Last edited by Ibrahiim al Balooshi; 12th November 2018 at 05:31 PM.

14th November 2018, 03:01 PM	#7
Ibrahiim al Balooshi Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Buraimi Oman, on the border with the UAE Posts: 4,408	I should log in the usual load of normal lower quality blades available at most workshops and although some do now carry a few wootz examples these are the blade types normally seen. On being asked the shop people usually either don't know where they are obtained or say India; Rajastan Attached Images

7th November 2018, 08:47 AM	#2
Tatyana Dianova Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 701	Hello Ibrahiim, Thank you for the great and interesting analysis! I hope this example will help your research!

7th November 2018, 01:56 PM	#3
Ibrahiim al Balooshi Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Buraimi Oman, on the border with the UAE Posts: 4,408	Showing the weapon around to associates I often get the call that this is a Busaidi Khanjar if you cover the hilt with one hand they will say 'Saiidi Khanjar then show the hilt they say saifaani! Some like their Royal Daggers like this !! at which point it becomes almost a personal preference . Saifaani being a Rhino horn type. Very much favoured in the past. Khanjar descriptions often mingle between styles and there are many variations add ons and subtractions...So technically this is a Saifaani 'Saiidi . Thanks for your kind words.

12th November 2018, 07:04 PM	#5
Richard G Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Posts: 406	I am always surprised at how little tang there is on these blades. Regards Richard

13th November 2018, 01:21 PM	#6
Ibrahiim al Balooshi Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Buraimi Oman, on the border with the UAE Posts: 4,408	It baffles me as well! Perhaps the vibrations through a longer tang would wreck the hilt? The only thing holding the blade in the hilt is the short tang and some glue and to stop the blade twisting a small bit of the broad blade slots in. Blades dropping out is quite common.