Tunisian or Libyan berber sword with scabbard

[TVV]

Congratulations, this is a really nice sword and it is nice to see it acquired by someone on the forum, and even nicer of you to share detailed pictures. In his book on edged weapons from Morocco and Algeria Eric Claude shows similar stamps on koummayas, which indicate the place of manufacturing. Since they seem to only exist on silver encased daggers, I suspect they also served as hallmarks for silver content.

[Yvain]

That's a very interesting thread on those intriguing swords!



To me that stamp definitely looks like a Libyan hallmark, you could try posting it on : https://www.facebook.com/groups/1033...413/?ref=share, there is some very knowledgeable people on North-African jewelry.

[werecow]

I'll add this recently sold Tunisian nimcha here (not mine) since it is interesting and has a scabbard with a very similar aesthetic.
Seller's description:

"Nimcha, Tunisia, 19th Century Mounted With An 18th Century European Blade"
Rare and imposing nimcha from the eastern Maghreb. Long and beautiful European blade from the mid-18th century, decorated with a sun and a moon face decorated with stars and foliage. The current assembly is probably from the second half of the 19th century, in Tunisia or Libya. The embossed and engraved decorations of the metal parts are typical of these regions with the floral interlacing and the motifs with four very tapered almond petals. The massive pommel is decorated with a crescent moon and a star recalling the insignia of the Ottoman Empire, still very influential in these regions in the 19th century. The sheath is made up of a wooden core covered with leather sewn into a wide strip of cords of different colors in triangle patterns. The fittings are all in ornate silver-plated brass.

Steel, silver-plated copper, silver-plated brass, bovine horn, wood, brown leather, blue, red and brown rope

Total length 107 cm
Scabbard 92 cm
Length without scabbard 104 cm
Blade 98 cm
Width at forte 3.9 cm
Width of guard 11 cm
Width of pommel 5.8 cm

[TVV]

To me this looks like a sword that was a Berber saber, but which had the original hilt replaced by a nimcha like hilt in more modern times. The fittings that are "embellishing" the scabbard are of brass sheet and to be fair, of pretty low quality. The guard is also quite crude, made of two pieces of brass. It is hard to tell with absolute certainty, but to me this just does not look right and I suspect a much more recent attempt at "enhancing" the sword, rather than a 19th century hybrid.

[kronckew]

I agree with Tvv.


The guard construction is not like any Nimcha I've seen. Indeed, 'rustic'. The embellishments look fairly well-made, tho. Definitely a NLO.
(Nimcha-Like Object) Or as the Auction Houses are fond of saying "in the style of a nimcha".

[werecow]

Fair enough. I don't think I've ever seen a nimcha hilted sword attributed to Tunisia or Libya before so tbh if they do exist I would not know how to tell a real one from a fake.

Of course, the reason for posting it on this thread was primarily the stitching on the scabbard, which shows a stylistic similarity to the berber sword scabbards.

[TVV]

I do not know if I would call it a fake, as that implies an intent to deceive. It may simply be a case of a modern attempt at "restoration".