THIS IS ALGERIAN
yeah, its me again, juste to add some "salt" to the discussion, as we say in french... naah, I mean, I'm not categoric, and I dont want to be that pathetic algerian guy who cry at any post about his elder craft, BUT..
This curious sword "could be" a north african composition, under ottoman era. Let me give some points :
- Italian/Austrian european blade, as massivly used in algeria or tunisia for many nimcha, or "tunisian berber swords". Same era, same engravings, same roads of importations, or battle took.
- A kind of "north african" work we can see on some nimcha, simple but effective just to use the blade, a shaped wooden handle, very common in "barbary era", due to a big need of weapons. the same blade in europe, should probably have a more "well made" handle, in my tought (thant local craftsman of Maghreb).
- That handle shape, that is not without reminding me a lot with the "typical" shape of algerian yatagans hadles, offering the same kind of "finger emplacement", and also a bit the pommel. The decoration in it made with circles, is also well used in algeria and tunisia.
- The brass guard... I mean.. as a specialist of algerian weapons, this is probably for me the most "algerian" skills Ive seen on swords around the mediterranean see (with the next one)... If a nimcha has a brass guard ? It is algerian ! (note by the ones ont the malta musueum of la vallette).
- The hole in the handle. I know that a lot of you prbably gonna a lough, but yeah, ALGERIANS LIKES HOLES
as for our bousaadi knife. This is also something Ive noticed the most, not to say only, on ancient algerian weapons (I mean, still around the mediterranean see, and for islamic weapons, except some sabers from arabic peninsula, from where that style is probably herited). But on sabers, the purpose is different than for the bousaadi knife (where the hole is made to keep the blade in the scabbard). on many algerian sabers, you will find that hole, on the upper part of the pommel, to attach a CHAIN, that join the guard (probably to protect the hand, I mean, just a little..). You can see the exact same things on some arabic saifs/sabers like shamshirs. But in algeria, you will find it in many models, as yatagan, or even a nimcha I have here, that already have a quillon that protect the hand, but also that hole.
To complete that, here is some ancient engravings, of what looks like our ancient swords, notice that CHAIN which join the guard, before most of them desappear with many wars, colonisation, or simply modernisation. We are very far from the classic nimcha or flissa, but those ones where at a time even more used than the other. Also a KNOWN ALGERIAN "barbary" not mine, but shared on a facebook group, I hope it is allowed... Notice the similarities in the work, like, as Ive mentionned, the brass guard. My friend and specialist of north african weapons Eric CLAUDE also confirm that this one is purely algerian.
The yatagan is to show the use of that chain on many algerian swods (written in french "took in algiers" on the blade), and some arabic saif to illustrate the style algerians copied.
And an algerian flissa, but a bit different, showing one ot the typical style of algerian handles under ottoman era, very close to this one, or even you can look to a "classic" algerian yatagan.
Best regards.