[Iain]

Originally Posted by Ibrahiim al Balooshi

Salaams Iain,
Superb letter, excellent research and very well put! Last point first; the 751 AD date for the Omani Short Original Battlesword, The Old Kattara. I promote that date as the first appearance of the weapon but by no means the date of all "originals" which must have been manufactured in a bracket of time rather than all at once. The date therefor is of "style". 751AD was the date of the first Ibathi Immam "ibn Julanda", thereby it is chosen as the likely introductory date of the Iconic, indeed Heraldic, Insignia sword against the Abbasid. (this is the sword from the Funoon; The Razha or sword dance and mimic combat formulated at the beginning of the Ibathi structure in 751 A.D) Questions arise such as what was the time bracket and when therefor was the last blade made? (that is the 64,000 dollar question !)

Hi Ibrahiim,

Thanks for clarifying the 751AD date. If I can continue to provide a little input, I'm still not convinced we can know the exact style that was transmitted - elements perhaps like the quillions but it still seems a bit of a stretch to say that this stayed completely unchanged? I have no idea, but logically I just see a gap here between the 751AD date and when we actually have examples from. I would imagine some stylistic changes might occur over such a long period? Might be interesting to start cataloging all the old style kattara we can find to see if any patterns emerge?

Regarding the Germany related questions; Mass production, Solingen, Running Wolf Stamp etc...I accept the German water powered hammer machinery was turning out vast numbers of blades... I should have researched that..Well spotted ! The running wolf stamp I have seen on a New Kattara in a Muscat Museum which they say is 19th C and fake. I have been digging through my notes and about 15 years ago met up with a collector from the UAE who at the time was only beginning to collect swords and he said that Old Kattara had two blades. His collection is now one of the worlds biggest ! I dismissed it at the time but it now transpires that the old weapon was given a new blade, early, perhaps 17th century? and that it was thinner, more flexible, and lighter than the original style. I handled a couple of Old Kattara in the Muscat Souk with flimsy looking blades and didnt give it a second thought, or considered them rusted and worn out... when in fact they may have been the imported blades we are trying to identify.

Thanks for the kind words, I'm not an expert in Solingen manufacturing history but I've learned a few things following trade blades for takouba and kaskara.

I have not seen any blade that looked imported on an old style kattara, but I guess some cross over could have occurred. Would be interesting to see one. If you've seen some in the Souk, even in bad condition it would be interesting to get photographs if you can on some trip in the future.

Could it be that the imported blade and old Kattara was the sword seen by Frazer in Hormuz in about 1821... ? It may have been the vibrating singing blade ? Is it possible that this imported thinner "transitional blade" on the Old Kattara then gave rise to the New Long Kattara form ?

That is the big question of course and what I've always wondered about the two types. The difference in hilts. It seems the question of interior versus coast doesn't provide any answers - nor does influence from any nearby countries.

The blade transition I think makes more sense. If the European imports offered some kind of improvement in quality over locally made old kattara style blades then I am sure it would not take long for locals to copy the form and the markings. This is exactly what happened in N. Africa with kaskara and takouba. This would also explain the museum example you mentioned with the faked wolf stamp. This seems like something of a usual pattern where Solingen blades went, copied locally, stamps added to give a sense of authenticity. The form and the stamps become associated with quality. This is of course just an idea based on my observations from takouba blades and may or may not be applicable to kattara.

The hilts of course remain a problem, the only other thing I can think about, and I am probably completely wrong, is that as the sword dance developed over time the quillions and balance of the old sword were possibly modified into the new hilt style to be better suited to the dance? So that the new sword is then designed more for dance? Could this also partly mirror the increase in usage of firearms as the sword became less of a primary weapon as muskets took over? Just some thoughts but that's the only thing I can think of.

In your references there is a so called 1000 AD Old Omani Kattara with a fine Arabic stamp. Their date is wrong by a few centuries.. since this is the sword from the Funoon formulated at the beginning of the Ibathi structure is 751 A.D. The other detail is ok and I like the fact they observe that a sword like this lasted centuries being passed down from father to son and as in Islamic and Arabian style they tended to "retain what worked" for many centuries..

Yes I thought you might be interested in what was written on that page. I have no idea what sources they used. Where you able to read the stamp?

Thank you very much for your excellent input !

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

My pleasure. I look forward to your further research, you have a great advantage over many collectors in that you get to live in the area where your collection comes from! I would give anything to be able to do some field research in Nigeria!

Cheers,

Iain