New Koummya for my collection

[Kmaddock]

Hi
Another new addition outside my collecting area
A Moroccan Koummya
There is a lot of wear on the knife and the scabbard with a lot of repairs to both.
It is a rudimentary enough piece but I feel it does have genuine age, the blade is not sheet steel so I think it is more than a tourist piece.

The baldrick has a lot of wear and broke at some stage and was just knotted together but looking at the repair I think this was done during its working life.

It is from a nice collection I am slowly purchasing as pieces are released.

So I th8nk it is a early 20 th century knife, there is some enameling on the handle and the scabbard although worn has a lot of goof decoration at some stage.

The support loops on the scabbard have a lot of wear which again I feel indicates age
The handle is timber for the lower part but the top part seems to be stone of some sort with a different stone inlayed

Scabbard is brass with perhaps a silver overlay, scabbard is v substantial in weight and v sturdy

So any comments and do you think I am correct in my ID

Regards to all

Ken

[Kmaddock]

One more

[Jim McDougall]

The koummya truly is an attractive and exotic looking dagger which is why it has been such a popular souvenier for travelers visiting Morocco and Maghreb destinations. It does seem generally held that these are typically of 20th century and from the souks in these places.
This one seems of earlier form which carries the styling (fluted bone) and the 'peacocks tail' pommel. These usually have designs in geometric form or in some cases script inscriptions and dates.
Actually this one closely parallels an example seen in Pitt Rivers museum and was collected in 1880s.

Charles Buttin in "Les Poignards et les Sabres Morocains' (Hesperis, XXVI:1, 1939) compared the pommels of these to those of the 15th century cinquedea, however it does not seem there is any supportable evidence of linear chronology showing any connection between cinquedea and these relatively modern daggers.

These are considered a version of the Arabian khanjhar from the Maghreb whose style seems to have evolved sometime in the 19th c.
It would be interesting to see any example from earlier.

In any case, this one is an attractive one with genuine age as you have well noted Ken. To me these are attractive culturally representing fascinating regions in times of great adventure, so even as a 'tourist' item, they are exciting antiques.

[TVV]

Originally Posted by Jim McDougall

Charles Buttin in "Les Poignards et les Sabres Morocains' (Hesperis, XXVI:1, 1939) compared the pommels of these to those of the 15th century cinquedea, however it does not seem there is any supportable evidence of linear chronology showing any connection between cinquedea and these relatively modern daggers.

Well, in fairness to Mr. Buttin, the similarity in pommel style to the 16th century cinquedea is quite strong. It appears that traditional Moroccan arms formed for the most part in the 16th-17th century during the Saadi dynasty, which successfully defended against foreign invasions from power as daunting as the Ottomans, Portugal and Spain and achieved great territorial expansion all the way to the Sahel, even if temporarily. The various Moroccan muskets and black powder accessories, such as powder flasks seem to have formed in that era based on muskets of Dutch and English design, which the Dutch and the English exported to the Moroccans as allies against the Habsburgs (Elgood, "Firearms of the Islamic World"). The Moroccan saif, or nimcha, as it is generally known among collectors also starts to appear in the 16th and 17th century, based on the earliest known examples we have. The sboula could have its hilt design origins in the Baselard, and straight bladed Moroccan daggers called "genoui" have a name that recalls a Genoese connection, and Genoa of course reached the apex of its power and importance during the 16th century. It is not that hard then to imagine that the koummaya would be formed during this period too, probably as a result of Ottoman influence in the blade design and Southern European influence in the hilt style.

Alternatively, one can look for origins in the ear daggers of Al Andalus, but those are slightly earlier (14th-16th centuries), and the hilt construction is different. The cinquedea on the other hand, especially when it comes to the distinct pommel cap one also finds on koummaya is too perfect a match to dismiss any connection. From what I recall from Buttin's plate on Morocco he dates some of the examples he shows to the 17th and 18th century, though of course such dating is hard to confirm, but the form almost certainly predates the 19th century.

[Jim McDougall]

Outstanding Teodor!!! That's what I call a rebuttal! and a great analysis of the influences on these North African weapons by Italian and Ottoman forms. I stand very much corrected, and gratefully so. Thank you.

[Kmaddock]

Thanks for learned replies,

I was in Morocco years ago and these knives were everywhere for a few dollars

I have always ignored these in my past auction sales as i just put them down as tourist items

This one however appealed to me and it has lots of character so I was happy to bring it home with me

Thanks again to all

Ken