Omani Khanjar
 

dear comunity,
thank you for accepting me here! It is my first post here.

I recently bought few late 19th century arms and some older edged arms accesories from a private Swiss collection in conjunction with other items that I was really keen of. I do not think that it will start a new passion for me, but there is at least one arm that I am curious about because I am a fan of the Omani perfume house, Amouage, which had masculine bottles inspired by their Royal Khanjar handle.

so, one of the arms is a Khanjar.
32x22cm, 611grams.

the scabbard and handle are covered in high-quality silver sheet and filigree work over a wooden core. the filigree features twisted wire, teardrop motifs, and concentric rosettes of very good execution. suspension rings are of the pyramidal cone type. the reverse of the scabbard retains its original natural brown leather backing.

what I would like to ask you is if you may help me identify the multiple hallmarks that we may see on the Khanjar. multiple stamps are present on the silver mounts of the scabbard, I tried to catch them on the photos below. additional mark is present on the blade spine, in the photos is the first mark.

if you may help me, I am particularly interested in understanding whether these marks indicate a specific region of Oman, a workshop, or an import/export hallmark.

thank you for your help!

Dear community,

This post has now gathered nearly 2,400 views without a single comment, which is itself quite remarkable. I would genuinely welcome any observation, however partial or tentative, even a simple "I don't know" or "I've never seen this hallmark before" would be helpful.

To clarify the markings more precisely: the blade spine carries a mark with two notches, which appears to be a maker's or owner's mark rather than an inscription. An Arabic text is located on the scabbard, at the edge where the handle meets the scabbard body. The silver mounts also carry a hallmark of four descending wave lines of different length. The suspension rings are of the pyramidal cone type, and the filigree work features twisted wire and teardrop motifs of high quality.

I am particularly interested in whether anyone recognizes the oval blade mark, the wave line hallmark as specific to a region or workshop in Oman or Yemen, or whether the Arabic inscription can be read by anyone familiar with inscriptions from this area.

The piece comes from a private Swiss collection. Thank you for any thoughts at all!

I do not believe the reported number of thread "reads" we see on the forum. The software accurately counts when the thread has been accessed, but this will include indexing bots and AI scans in addition to actual human reads.

I bought a similar khanjar in terms of the proficient silver filigree work in 1979, with a smaller plated blade; I suspect earlier 20th century, but I am no expert in these. I do not identify any marks other than random 'dings' from wear and use. Mine is also unmarked.

Hopefully, someone more knowledgeable will comment before too long.

Hello Gionloc,

Welcome to the forum! I am very far to be an expert regarding jambiyas, see here: http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...hlight=jambiya
But when I understand some comments in the given thread I would guess that the jambiya in question is a tourist item because the blade seems to be made from two sheets soldered together like one pic of yours show clearly, sorry for the bad news.

Regards,
Detlef

I'm afraid Detlef is right about the jambiya; it dates from the second half of the 20th century, and the markings don't resemble any I've come across before.

Best regards,
Marc

Thank you Detlef for the kind response and for taking the time to look at the piece!

I need to clarify one important point: the photograph showing the line you mentioned is not of the blade at all, but of the upper scabbard mount, where the silver sheet wraps around the wooden core. A visible line there is entirely expected and normal. The blade itself is single and solid, with no such construction.

The blade mark and a close-up of the blade are actually in the left photograph in my original post, next to the image you quoted. I hope this helps clarify the piece a little further.

I very much appreciate any further thoughts.

I appreciate the reference to the jambiya thread.

I made the exact same misinterpretation of that photograph and I had even pulled up a link about those sheet metal blades, but then when I could not see the defect on the full blade image, I looked again more closely and corrected myself.

Hi gionloc!

This is an Al-Saidi khanjar from Oman. The marks and inscriptions were placed on the top flap of the sheath (Sader). I haven't seen marks on the blades of Omani khanjars or Yemeni jambiyas.

I have a practically identical khanjar, but it has inscriptions that I couldn't decipher. See the thread:
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...hlight=khanjar

Sincerely,
Yuri

Thank you so much!
Lucian