Questions on Nimcha

FenrisWolf · 22nd January 2007, 03:51 AM

Recently I finally was lucky enough to add a Nimcha to my collection, not the fancy Moroccan dagger that goes by the name, but the sword. According to the tag that accompanied it, it was originally purchased in 1980 from a Berber family in the mountains outside of Morocco, and was attributed to being 150 years old at that time (sorry about the blurriness on the first couple of shots, I forgot to reset from macro):

The metalwork is solid, high-content German silver, completely engraved on both sides of the scabbard. Whoever the artist was, he was REALLY into detail! What does puzzle me, though, is this: I'm familiar with the tradition that calls for European blades to be remounted in the traditional hilts, but every one I've seen prior to this has had a blade in good to excellent condition mounted in the fittings. This is definitely NOT the case here:

The blade was cleaned prior to being fitted in its new furniture, but prior to that had been horribly neglected for a very long time. It also has the maltese crosses and crescent moons that are supposedly significant as to its origins?

And finally, the blade was originally longer, a true saber blade of some sort, and was shortened and given a true thrusting tip:

So, any ideas? My own wild speculation is that the original blade belonged to a trophy that was of great significance to the owner, otherwise I can't imagine why such elaborate fittings would've been put on such a battered blade.

Fenris

BBJW · 22nd January 2007, 10:04 PM

Looks like a European blade to me that was broken and then re-pointed. Is the scabbard longer than the blade?

bbjw

Battara · 23rd January 2007, 12:07 AM

Just remember that "German Silver" is a nickel/copper mix and no actual silver is present.

FenrisWolf · 23rd January 2007, 12:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BBJW

Looks like a European blade to me that was broken and then re-pointed. Is the scabbard longer than the blade?

bbjw

No, the scabbard was definitely fitted to the blade in its current configuration. That's what puzzled me, they put a LOT of work into preserving a severely distressed blade....

FenrisWolf · 23rd January 2007, 12:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Battara

Just remember that "German Silver" is a nickel/copper mix and no actual silver is present.

My mistake, I was thinking of the silver/copper alloy used by the Tuareg and Berber peoples. This definitely is a silver alloy of some kind from the way it responds to the polishing cloth. I don't know if a jeweler can test the percentage without damaging the scabbard, but if it can be done I'll have it checked at some point. By the weight and the way it shines up it feels like it must be high.

Battara · 27th January 2007, 08:24 PM

A polishing cloth can make German silver shine too. A jeweler can test for copper or silver content.

Jim McDougall · 28th January 2007, 06:51 PM

Hi Fenris,
The mounts on this 'nimcha' are fantastic! and the old European trade blade is intriguing. It is interesting that, as you note, such a worn blade would be placed in such sumptuous mounts. However, European blades were of course the much sought after standard, and were typically remounted numerous times over thier working life, which of course extends well into the 20th century.
I have gone through quite a number of resources concerning those markings, and have not yet been successful in finding the 'quatrefoil' arrangement of these presumably Spanish (Cross of Santiago) type crosses, along with the crescent moon. I have however found similar crosses in linear arrangement over a crescent moon, also on a similar European trade blade, and on a nimcha of the form attributed typically to trade between Zanzibar and Arabia (Yemen specifically).
It seems worthy of note here that the 'four crosses' in that arrangement is seen in the regalia of Moorish Spain, on the hilt of the sword of Boabdil (Abu 'abd Allah Muhammed XII) , the last Emir before the fall of the Moors there. The very ornate Hispano-Moresque hilt has four crosses in its motif surrounding the eight pointed Islamic star. Perhaps this motif may have some significance in what appear to be applied by local armourer in the Maghreb. It seems plausible that that arrangement might have been known through trade items coming in from Spain, and may have provided influence.

The reprofiling of the blade seems to be perhaps intended to approach the fine point of the Berber flyssa, and it would seem that reprofiling blades is a practice not unusual for Berber armourers. This of course recalls the sabres that have been attributed to Berbers in Morocco with the heavily profiled tips on old British M1796 light cavalry blades, although the case on that Moroccan attribution remains somewhat speculative.

Outstanding piece!!!

All the best,
Jim

Emanuel · 28th January 2007, 07:19 PM

Hello,

About the quatrefoil mark, in my mind it is similar to that on the koummiya posted by berberdagger: http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=3996

In which case the Raisuli link surfaces again.
Regards,
Emanuel

FenrisWolf · 28th January 2007, 07:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim McDougall

Hi Fenris,
The mounts on this 'nimcha' are fantastic! and the old European trade blade is intriguing. It is interesting that, as you note, such a worn blade would be placed in such sumptuous mounts. However, European blades were of course the much sought after standard, and were typically remounted numerous times over thier working life, which of course extends well into the 20th century.

Outstanding piece!!!

All the best,
Jim

Thanks, Jim! This is definitely the gem of my collection, and one of those cases of being in the right place at the right time. I'll be chortling over this one for years; I didn't even have anyone bidding against me! I think it may have been a case of other potential buyers not recognizing what they were seeing. The pics the seller posted were just poor enough that it could've been easy to dismiss the fancy metal work as tourist junk, which unfortunately many of the pieces coming out of Morocco are. What gave it away for me was the extra work that had been put into the harness rings. The spiralled metal combined with the thicker material cued me into taking a closer look and realizing that the fittings were not trash.

Thank you for the information as to the possible sources for the markings on the blade. I wish the initial buyer had asked more questions of the Berber family from whom he purchased it, or if he did, had recorded the information. All I have is that the family lived in the mountains, but which mountains? At this point it is of course nothing more than pure speculation, but I can only believe that the blade was some form of family heirloom with significance to its owner beyond its basic function. At least no other theory I can think of would explain the huge difference between the opulence of the fittings and the decidedly 'shaggy dog' nature of the blade.

I'm still figuring out how to get the best pics possible out of my little digital camera. As soon as I manage some better ones of the marks on the blade I'll post them, as well as a better series of pics of the engraving on the scabbard and hilt.

Thanks again for your help!
Fenris

Jim McDougall · 28th January 2007, 11:05 PM

Thanks very much Fenris! I'll be looking forward to those photos, and I'll keep looking for more on the markings, and if I can find other similar.
All the best,
Jim

22nd January 2007, 03:51 AM	#1
FenrisWolf Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 181	Questions on Nimcha Recently I finally was lucky enough to add a Nimcha to my collection, not the fancy Moroccan dagger that goes by the name, but the sword. According to the tag that accompanied it, it was originally purchased in 1980 from a Berber family in the mountains outside of Morocco, and was attributed to being 150 years old at that time (sorry about the blurriness on the first couple of shots, I forgot to reset from macro): The metalwork is solid, high-content German silver, completely engraved on both sides of the scabbard. Whoever the artist was, he was REALLY into detail! What does puzzle me, though, is this: I'm familiar with the tradition that calls for European blades to be remounted in the traditional hilts, but every one I've seen prior to this has had a blade in good to excellent condition mounted in the fittings. This is definitely NOT the case here: The blade was cleaned prior to being fitted in its new furniture, but prior to that had been horribly neglected for a very long time. It also has the maltese crosses and crescent moons that are supposedly significant as to its origins? And finally, the blade was originally longer, a true saber blade of some sort, and was shortened and given a true thrusting tip: So, any ideas? My own wild speculation is that the original blade belonged to a trophy that was of great significance to the owner, otherwise I can't imagine why such elaborate fittings would've been put on such a battered blade. Fenris

22nd January 2007, 10:04 PM	#2
BBJW Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Idaho, USA Posts: 228	Looks like a European blade to me that was broken and then re-pointed. Is the scabbard longer than the blade? bbjw

23rd January 2007, 12:07 AM	#3
Battara EAAF Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 7,220	Just remember that "German Silver" is a nickel/copper mix and no actual silver is present.

27th January 2007, 08:24 PM	#6
Battara EAAF Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 7,220	A polishing cloth can make German silver shine too. A jeweler can test for copper or silver content.

28th January 2007, 06:51 PM	#7
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 9,945	Hi Fenris, The mounts on this 'nimcha' are fantastic! and the old European trade blade is intriguing. It is interesting that, as you note, such a worn blade would be placed in such sumptuous mounts. However, European blades were of course the much sought after standard, and were typically remounted numerous times over thier working life, which of course extends well into the 20th century. I have gone through quite a number of resources concerning those markings, and have not yet been successful in finding the 'quatrefoil' arrangement of these presumably Spanish (Cross of Santiago) type crosses, along with the crescent moon. I have however found similar crosses in linear arrangement over a crescent moon, also on a similar European trade blade, and on a nimcha of the form attributed typically to trade between Zanzibar and Arabia (Yemen specifically). It seems worthy of note here that the 'four crosses' in that arrangement is seen in the regalia of Moorish Spain, on the hilt of the sword of Boabdil (Abu 'abd Allah Muhammed XII) , the last Emir before the fall of the Moors there. The very ornate Hispano-Moresque hilt has four crosses in its motif surrounding the eight pointed Islamic star. Perhaps this motif may have some significance in what appear to be applied by local armourer in the Maghreb. It seems plausible that that arrangement might have been known through trade items coming in from Spain, and may have provided influence. The reprofiling of the blade seems to be perhaps intended to approach the fine point of the Berber flyssa, and it would seem that reprofiling blades is a practice not unusual for Berber armourers. This of course recalls the sabres that have been attributed to Berbers in Morocco with the heavily profiled tips on old British M1796 light cavalry blades, although the case on that Moroccan attribution remains somewhat speculative. Outstanding piece!!! All the best, Jim

28th January 2007, 07:19 PM	#8
Emanuel Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 1,242	Hello, About the quatrefoil mark, in my mind it is similar to that on the koummiya posted by berberdagger: http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=3996 In which case the Raisuli link surfaces again. Regards, Emanuel

28th January 2007, 11:05 PM	#10
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 9,945	Thanks very much Fenris! I'll be looking forward to those photos, and I'll keep looking for more on the markings, and if I can find other similar. All the best, Jim