Thank you so much for posting this example Michael, and I join Ibrahiim in thanking you for the great photos of the swords in Yemen and Riyadh which have been integral to our discussions here. This example does seem to have had the blade cut down and reprofiled tip which seem uncharacteristically pointed.
The triple dots inlaid near the forte on this are a feature seen regularly, not necessarily commonly, on many Hadhramauti and Yemeni edged weapons. I have seen these in paired configuration on either side of center ridge on Hahramaut janbiyya, and on the blades on a number of swords. It would seem this is an apotropaic device, however similar applications of these triple dots are seen on blades in India and elsewhere in various blade locations, and it is unclear what the exact purpose or meaning might be in different cultural spheres.
Ibrahiim, is it possible we might get an illustration of the Abbasid sword in Topkapi that we might use as a visual benchmark for our discussion? Also you mention that the Abbasid sword has a single dot in the blade. Is it gold metal filled or iron, and what blade location?
It does seem that yellow metal plugs were used in similar manner in antiquity as noted from an al Kindi reference in "The Sword in Anglo Saxon England" (H.R.Ellis-Davidson , 1962. p.115) which was translated in 1936 by A.Zeki Velidi:
"...upon completion of blade treatment, some blades were marked in the upper part with moons or crosses of bronze or gold, and sometimes a nail of bronze or gold is hammered into a hole in the blade".
While this suggests that the substance of the metal plug or nail serves in some sense as an apotropaic or element of power, it is unclear what exact meaning was, and why this may have evolved into the triple dot configuration.
In a discussion some years ago as we examined metal filled holes in blades, Lee Jones offered a most plausible suggestion for some of the configurations located where earlier blade fixtures may have been secured, and that perhaps these were left clearly apparant to suggest the vintage and integrity of a heirloom blade. It must be remembered that blades were remounted often many times in thier working lives, and that these old blades were highly revered. Thus rather than being perceived as 'old blades' these may have been considered imbued with the power of the owner's ancestors. Trophy blades were of course very much likely viewed in the same manner.
Regarding the possible apotropaic application once again, it is interesting to note that in many cases among the swords of the Tuareg, the blade is pierced just above the point and the hole filled by a copper plug ("European Blades in Tuareg Swords and Daggers" Lloyd Cabot Briggs, JAAS, Vol.V, #2, 1965, p.80). This may have been an influence from the European sword blades entering the Sahara, or equally from Arab traders from the east, or perhaps an element of the Tuaregs own folk religion and superstitions toward iron and evil etc. Whatever the case, the use of metal filled holes in seemingly strategic configurations is these various examples may offer clues in our further examinations of these swords.
All best regards,
Jim
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