Lew Waldman's Ethnographic Arms & Armour Collection Archive


1007 - North African (Moroccan) Nimcha

This Moroccan nimcha incorporates a single edged curved trade blade of European origin that is 26 inches (66 cm) in length. Three parallel narrow fullers track the spine and there is a pair of 'eyelash' marks on either face as well as an adjacent ambiguous mark on one side. The typical nimcha guard has two forward extensions at the top and one at the bottom and also a knuckle guard, all with bulbous tips. A brass ferrule decorated on one side but rather crudely joined on the opposite starts a wooden pistol grip that has been capped by a mid 19th century Moroccan coin used as a tang washer. The blade is lightly pitted and the guard extensions sometimes suggest having been bent and reapproximated. Overall length is 31 inches (79 cm) with a weight of 25 2/3 ounces (729 grams).


 



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