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Originally Posted by kahnjar1
An example of an Al Ahsa Khanjar from my collection.
Richard....In answer to your question at #5 above regarding the difference ....the diamond shaped decorations in my experience do not appear on Omani work and are typical of Saudi/Yemeni scabbard decoration. If you look at the pic of the Omani "Royal" Khanjar at #2 above you will see that the diamond decoration is absent.
Stu
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Salaams khanjar 1, There appear to be two regions in Saudia with similar work;
1. Alhasa which is the old Al Bahrayn region in the East of Saudia...whose work has not yet been catalogued.
2. The region I have been talking about that is way down south on the Red Sea and with a Yemeni border...and that work has been aligned to the Muscat Khanjar through Muscat -Jazzan -Zanzibar trade.
I write only about the latter region where the daggers are known as Habaabi and centred on Abha in the Asir. ;
Regarding the silver diamond shaped rectangles # 5 above has them. Also see the Omani khanjar thread at #63 #113 and more importantly the
Muscat Khanjar style from which the Habaabi came ..at # 143. What tends to be the case with Habaabi is that the hilt tend to be fatter as does the crown(Quba)...and the body has a tendency to be slimmer. I say tendency as its not always evident...thats what makes these weapons such a conundrum occasionally. I find them easy to distinguish when they are accompanied by the regions belt style or other markings (emblems) or sometimes the traditional regional work knife and by and the above factors and by the greater turn in the scabbard and by the "typical" use of a wide central hilt ring with above and below a trefoil arrangement with a large button at the base ..the largest and central leaves leaves pointing toward and extending under the wide central ring. See below examples~
http://www.flickr.com/photos/charlesfred/5512947198
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mytripsmypics/4336633417
http://www.flickr.com/photos/charlesfred/5780340287
http://www.flickr.com/photos/charlesfred/5780340299
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mytripsmypics/4318547823
It should be remembered that these were not copied from the Royal Omani saaidiyyah style(circa 1850...Sheherazad) but from the earlier Muscat Khanjar form.
If you look at #17 of The Omani Khanjar it shows the architypal Muscat Khanjar which does have the diamond decorations (though slightly blurred) and interestingly the curve in that particular hilt is more pronounced than normal Omani work. I believe the Asir... Habaabi version simply reflects those elements, though, it has developed slight idiosyncracies over the past couple of hundred years since its migration.
So regarding the diamond shaped silver rectangles.. Did that arrive with the Muscat Khanjar? Looking to Omani Silver by Ruth Hawley and the Robertson and Dorr publication...There are many examples of this diamond shaped or silver rectangle work on Hirz lucky charm boxes and I think that is where the style originates and since it is ancient (from the Greek) and reported on by General Nearchos apparently...thus the roots of the design are unquestionable...and as you say the Abha (Habaabi) weapons do often have that diamond shaped addition....which as I noted above are a direct take off/copy from the original Muscat Khanjar style.
Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.