Nimcha: opinions and translations?

ariel · 19th June 2007, 05:39 PM

Very intriguing.
The "stumps" on the langets ( or, in this case, are they quillons?

) look like a transitional step between the classic North African and the Zanzibari forms.
The "eyleashes with dots" were, as Jens notices, as popular in the area then as words " Made in China" are now.
As a matter of fact, the contour of the blade is kind of shashka-ish. There were a lot of shashka blades from Daghestan, many with the gurda mark, in Southern Arabia toward the end of the 19th century. Etching one with more "local" decoratios was a piece of baklawa then as it is now.
The bottom line, until some compassionate soul translates the inscription, you are in the datk. But then...... All will be revealed!

Tim Simmons · 19th June 2007, 07:42 PM

What a tragedy this very nice sword has been parted from its scabbard. I wonder if this was originally a fairly basic trade blade beautified in N. Africa. Some say girls are better at fishing also

.

Tatyana Dianova · 19th June 2007, 08:17 PM

Thank you all for your comments!
Jens, all the dots from the blade marks you may see on the picture above. There are none on the other side of the blade or in any other place.

Jens Nordlunde · 19th June 2007, 09:42 PM

This means that all the dot markings are on the 'left' side of the blade - am I right?

Jens

Battara · 19th June 2007, 10:12 PM

A fascinating nimcha. Only one I have seen with gold and enamel. I would guess that the scabbard was in velet and possibly solid gold with enamel mounts, possibly sold in later times for the gold content. The last part is conjecture.

Tatyana Dianova · 20th June 2007, 09:12 AM

Ok, the scabbard is gone ... and it is gone forever...

Jens, I think you are right about the left side (the dot markings are on the opposite side of the blade if you look at the pictures 1 and 2).

Kirill Rivkin have sent me his opinion on the sword, which I find quite logical. Quote:
"I highly doubt that the blade is european in origin. The style of
eyelashes and the fact that the pattern is repeated many times suggest a
local copy. Arabic engravings on blade's sides look acid etched to me,
which likely indicates post 1860 origin. On the blade's back side there is
an engraving which seems to be year and signature, also I would not say
anything conclusive without better pictures. Acid etching on the blade
is most likely citations from Quran. Similar blades were produced by
almost everyone, the font does not seem to be Nastaliq, which means it is
likely to be non-persian. It does not seem like a classical caucasian
work either. I suspect it was made in late XIXth century in some part of
the Ottoman Empire, North Africa or other."
And also, in the next letter:
"I have looked at a few pieces and it seems that Zanzibar/North Africa was a little bit faster in adopting etching - 1820s or later, but the style still seems a little bit later than this to me."

I will try to make the better pictures of the inscription on the back side and post them later.

ALEX · 20th June 2007, 10:18 AM

This is VERY NICE SWORD Tatjana.
According to A.Tirri description, this is: "...Moroccan Nimcha, 19th Cent.... with 3 downturned guillions and one upturned guillion which serves as a hand guard. Rhino horn was used to augment the aura of virility of the sword bearer. Blades were mostly imported from Europe..."
The hilt does look like Rhino. And the guard is of interesting form. I have similarly formed guard on a Spanish sword (will post it next), but it has a bar connecting two ends together.
The writing is indeed in Arabic, but of an old Arabic form/alphabet. Not easy to read, but the etched sentence has word Allah, and is most likely the Quranic verse (as pointed by Kirill). The chiseled word (on the right side of the 4th picture) reads "Hussein" (which is also a name of the Prophet Mohammad grandson).

19th June 2007, 05:39 PM	#1
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	Very intriguing. The "stumps" on the langets ( or, in this case, are they quillons? ) look like a transitional step between the classic North African and the Zanzibari forms. The "eyleashes with dots" were, as Jens notices, as popular in the area then as words " Made in China" are now. As a matter of fact, the contour of the blade is kind of shashka-ish. There were a lot of shashka blades from Daghestan, many with the gurda mark, in Southern Arabia toward the end of the 19th century. Etching one with more "local" decoratios was a piece of baklawa then as it is now. The bottom line, until some compassionate soul translates the inscription, you are in the datk. But then...... All will be revealed!

19th June 2007, 07:42 PM	#2
Tim Simmons Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: What is still UK Posts: 5,854	What a tragedy this very nice sword has been parted from its scabbard. I wonder if this was originally a fairly basic trade blade beautified in N. Africa. Some say girls are better at fishing also .

19th June 2007, 08:17 PM	#3
Tatyana Dianova Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 736	Thank you all for your comments! Jens, all the dots from the blade marks you may see on the picture above. There are none on the other side of the blade or in any other place.

19th June 2007, 09:42 PM	#4
Jens Nordlunde Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Europe Posts: 2,718	This means that all the dot markings are on the 'left' side of the blade - am I right? Jens

19th June 2007, 10:12 PM	#5
Battara EAAF Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 7,280	A fascinating nimcha. Only one I have seen with gold and enamel. I would guess that the scabbard was in velet and possibly solid gold with enamel mounts, possibly sold in later times for the gold content. The last part is conjecture.

20th June 2007, 09:12 AM	#6
Tatyana Dianova Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 736	Ok, the scabbard is gone ... and it is gone forever... Jens, I think you are right about the left side (the dot markings are on the opposite side of the blade if you look at the pictures 1 and 2). Kirill Rivkin have sent me his opinion on the sword, which I find quite logical. Quote: "I highly doubt that the blade is european in origin. The style of eyelashes and the fact that the pattern is repeated many times suggest a local copy. Arabic engravings on blade's sides look acid etched to me, which likely indicates post 1860 origin. On the blade's back side there is an engraving which seems to be year and signature, also I would not say anything conclusive without better pictures. Acid etching on the blade is most likely citations from Quran. Similar blades were produced by almost everyone, the font does not seem to be Nastaliq, which means it is likely to be non-persian. It does not seem like a classical caucasian work either. I suspect it was made in late XIXth century in some part of the Ottoman Empire, North Africa or other." And also, in the next letter: "I have looked at a few pieces and it seems that Zanzibar/North Africa was a little bit faster in adopting etching - 1820s or later, but the style still seems a little bit later than this to me." I will try to make the better pictures of the inscription on the back side and post them later.

20th June 2007, 10:18 AM	#7
ALEX Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 936	This is VERY NICE SWORD Tatjana. According to A.Tirri description, this is: "...Moroccan Nimcha, 19th Cent.... with 3 downturned guillions and one upturned guillion which serves as a hand guard. Rhino horn was used to augment the aura of virility of the sword bearer. Blades were mostly imported from Europe..." The hilt does look like Rhino. And the guard is of interesting form. I have similarly formed guard on a Spanish sword (will post it next), but it has a bar connecting two ends together. The writing is indeed in Arabic, but of an old Arabic form/alphabet. Not easy to read, but the etched sentence has word Allah, and is most likely the Quranic verse (as pointed by Kirill). The chiseled word (on the right side of the 4th picture) reads "Hussein" (which is also a name of the Prophet Mohammad grandson).