Zanzibar/Yemen Saif with an Ethiopian Blade

TVV · 12th March 2009, 05:28 AM

This is my latest acquisition, but what do we have here?
The blade looks like European made for the Abyssinian market. It is marked with the familiar Lion of Judah on one side, and with MK on the other. Unfortunately the picture of that marking did not come out well, but the MK is in a circle, and both the MK and the circle are finely engraved, most certainly not by hand. Around the circle someone crudely engraved a six-pointed star, perhaps in an attempt to imitate a Wikinson proof mark. Is anyone familiar with the MK mark? I could not find it in a book I have on German markings.
The hilt is of poor quality, with the knuckle bar missing. The shape is associated with Zanzibar, once part of the Sultanate of Oman, and an important trading port. For some reason Elgood has not included this particular hilt shape in his book on Arab arms. In an older thread, I read someone mentioning that hilts of this type are being currently produced in Yemen and married to all kinds of blades.
For what it's worth, I purchased the sword on eBay and the seller was located in Saudi Arabia, not far from Riyadh, and I still remember Saqr's pictures of swords in the Riyadh bazaar.
This is what I liked about the sword despite the recent (certainly newer than the blade), damaged hilt - it seems to be made of a variety of components, some of which must have travelled a lot. However, I know very little about both the blade and the hilt, and would appreciate any and all comments.
Regards,
Teodor

kino · 12th March 2009, 06:06 AM

Very interesting, I like the engraving's of the Lion of Judah and the star. For an aficionado of Reggae, that would be a sword to have. Big up!

Jim McDougall · 12th March 2009, 06:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kino

Very interesting, I like the engraving's of the Lion of Judah and the star. For an aficionado of Reggae, that would be a sword to have. Big up!

Hi Kino,
Definitely some smooth music!

It is interesting that the Lion of Judah was the regal emblem for the rulers of Ethiopia, and officially thier title. The contractors of Solingen and Wilkinson in England typically placed this symbol on the blades specifically for this market of course, from about end of 19th century, well into 20th (1930's).

The Star of David is also key to Ethiopian symbolism with relation to Solomons seal, and is represented in the official order by that name in the shape of the six point star (initiated 1874). It has always been interesting that Wilkinson already had been using this star surrounding its proof plugs and as a blade mark since about the 1850's, so was already well established on thier swords before the contracts to Abyssinia in the latter 19th century.

It would seem that this blade had some use in Ethiopia before ending up in the Arab regions as someone went to great lengths to inscribe that star, well illustrating the imbued significance of these symbols on trade blades.

All best regards,
Jim

roanoa · 12th March 2009, 07:33 AM

Hi guys. Very interesting sword. A few quick notes. MK in a circle is found on many Ethiopian blades. I believe it is a trademark of M. KEVORKOFF & Co. - Harrar. The "star of David" is a British proof mark used by many sword makers, not just Wilkinson. The "star" was applied to blades for every country, not just Ethiopia. Of course, the Ethiopian were particularly fond of that simbol, being of Solomonic descent. But that was just, can I say, a coincidence. Lastly, at the risk of "shocking" someone, I would say that the blade was originally straight. Any competent blacksmith would be able to heat "bend" a straight blade. I have seen with my own eyes a smith make a perfectly curved shotel out of a very straight blade. Cheers.

TVV · 12th March 2009, 08:55 AM

Kino, Jim and Ron, thank you all for your comments, very interesting.

Jim, the connection to bedouin swords is something I would have never though of. There certainly is a strong similarity if one just looks at the hilt, without the grossguard. I am not sure if the metal is silver. It looks more like nickel to me, or maybe even aluminium.

Ron, I think you are correct about the blade. When I looked at it something seemed a little off in the proportions, especially at the tip, but I could not quite figure out what. I thought it might be a locally forged blade, but the engraving seems way to uniform for that. But a heat bent blade - that must be it!
Thank you also for the mark comment. I assume M. Kevorkoff was an Armenian merchant, who imported blades into Ethiopia. Was he operating under some sort of contract with the Emperor, supplying the Royal troops?

Regards,
Teodor

CharlesS · 12th March 2009, 07:22 PM

Based on the fullering, I think Ron makes an excellent point....good observation.

Jim McDougall · 12th March 2009, 06:16 AM

Hi Teodor,
This interesting sabre seems to be a composite Red Sea trade item that reminds me of the Bedouin sabres usually attributed to Palestinian regions in the early 19th century from Sinai to the Negev. The roughly fashioned silver metal hilt components resemble thier work, which has been added to one of the Zanzibar style guards you have mentioned. These have been classified as such by Charles Buttin in the catalog of his collection (Rumilly, 1933, examples 998-1002) and are shown as 17th-18th century, though most of the ones I have seen are distinctly 19th century. I do recall that a large number of these were indeed discovered in an old armoury in Yemen some years ago.
On your hilt, the knucklegard appears to have been broken off.

The blade appears to be one of the blades supplied to Abyssinia (Ethiopia) in the early 20th century, mostly pre 1930's, and the Lion of Judah on the forte is consistant, as well as the initials. It seems the MK is familiar but I'll have to look for notes....hopefully Roanoa or Jeff. D. will have something on that.
The crudely scribed six point star I would agree is an attempt to simulate the Wilkinson proof surround, but this is a Solingen blade from what I can see, especially with those etched initials.

These Bedouin sabres were definitely working weapons, especially in those days, and this one looks soundly put together.......lots of history in the sum of the parts!

All the best,
Jim

12th March 2009, 05:28 AM	#1
TVV Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Bay Area Posts: 1,620	Zanzibar/Yemen Saif with an Ethiopian Blade This is my latest acquisition, but what do we have here? The blade looks like European made for the Abyssinian market. It is marked with the familiar Lion of Judah on one side, and with MK on the other. Unfortunately the picture of that marking did not come out well, but the MK is in a circle, and both the MK and the circle are finely engraved, most certainly not by hand. Around the circle someone crudely engraved a six-pointed star, perhaps in an attempt to imitate a Wikinson proof mark. Is anyone familiar with the MK mark? I could not find it in a book I have on German markings. The hilt is of poor quality, with the knuckle bar missing. The shape is associated with Zanzibar, once part of the Sultanate of Oman, and an important trading port. For some reason Elgood has not included this particular hilt shape in his book on Arab arms. In an older thread, I read someone mentioning that hilts of this type are being currently produced in Yemen and married to all kinds of blades. For what it's worth, I purchased the sword on eBay and the seller was located in Saudi Arabia, not far from Riyadh, and I still remember Saqr's pictures of swords in the Riyadh bazaar. This is what I liked about the sword despite the recent (certainly newer than the blade), damaged hilt - it seems to be made of a variety of components, some of which must have travelled a lot. However, I know very little about both the blade and the hilt, and would appreciate any and all comments. Regards, Teodor Attached Images

12th March 2009, 07:33 AM	#4
roanoa Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 234	Hi guys. Very interesting sword. A few quick notes. MK in a circle is found on many Ethiopian blades. I believe it is a trademark of M. KEVORKOFF & Co. - Harrar. The "star of David" is a British proof mark used by many sword makers, not just Wilkinson. The "star" was applied to blades for every country, not just Ethiopia. Of course, the Ethiopian were particularly fond of that simbol, being of Solomonic descent. But that was just, can I say, a coincidence. Lastly, at the risk of "shocking" someone, I would say that the blade was originally straight. Any competent blacksmith would be able to heat "bend" a straight blade. I have seen with my own eyes a smith make a perfectly curved shotel out of a very straight blade. Cheers. Last edited by roanoa; 12th March 2009 at 08:09 AM.

12th March 2009, 06:06 AM	#2
kino Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 1,002	Very interesting, I like the engraving's of the Lion of Judah and the star. For an aficionado of Reggae, that would be a sword to have. Big up!

12th March 2009, 08:55 AM	#5
TVV Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Bay Area Posts: 1,620	Kino, Jim and Ron, thank you all for your comments, very interesting. Jim, the connection to bedouin swords is something I would have never though of. There certainly is a strong similarity if one just looks at the hilt, without the grossguard. I am not sure if the metal is silver. It looks more like nickel to me, or maybe even aluminium. Ron, I think you are correct about the blade. When I looked at it something seemed a little off in the proportions, especially at the tip, but I could not quite figure out what. I thought it might be a locally forged blade, but the engraving seems way to uniform for that. But a heat bent blade - that must be it! Thank you also for the mark comment. I assume M. Kevorkoff was an Armenian merchant, who imported blades into Ethiopia. Was he operating under some sort of contract with the Emperor, supplying the Royal troops? Regards, Teodor

12th March 2009, 07:22 PM	#6
CharlesS Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Greenville, NC Posts: 1,857	Based on the fullering, I think Ron makes an excellent point....good observation.

12th March 2009, 06:16 AM	#7
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 9,943	Hi Teodor, This interesting sabre seems to be a composite Red Sea trade item that reminds me of the Bedouin sabres usually attributed to Palestinian regions in the early 19th century from Sinai to the Negev. The roughly fashioned silver metal hilt components resemble thier work, which has been added to one of the Zanzibar style guards you have mentioned. These have been classified as such by Charles Buttin in the catalog of his collection (Rumilly, 1933, examples 998-1002) and are shown as 17th-18th century, though most of the ones I have seen are distinctly 19th century. I do recall that a large number of these were indeed discovered in an old armoury in Yemen some years ago. On your hilt, the knucklegard appears to have been broken off. The blade appears to be one of the blades supplied to Abyssinia (Ethiopia) in the early 20th century, mostly pre 1930's, and the Lion of Judah on the forte is consistant, as well as the initials. It seems the MK is familiar but I'll have to look for notes....hopefully Roanoa or Jeff. D. will have something on that. The crudely scribed six point star I would agree is an attempt to simulate the Wilkinson proof surround, but this is a Solingen blade from what I can see, especially with those etched initials. These Bedouin sabres were definitely working weapons, especially in those days, and this one looks soundly put together.......lots of history in the sum of the parts! All the best, Jim