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Originally Posted by archer
This khanjar just came in I believe it came out of an estate as it's NIB. I think it may have some age, but,no use. Is the case a presentation case or one purchased with the dagger? I'm not familiar with This type triangular belt chain at the Quba. Does it help date the dagger or it's origins? The hilt while translucent hasn't given up ant clues to its origins either. The whole dagger weighs 1 pound 5 ozs.
The unusual Yemeni? Jambiya came in yesterday. Yeah, I'm like a kid in a candy store all wired up. It is compact with a 6 1/2 inch blade three copper dots on each side. I don't recall seeing one like it before The silver is soft and oxidised it is brightening from handling.
The hilt as suspected is Rhino horn and very translucent. Is this Yemeni? Is there a separate name for this little Jambiya? Perhaps the odd chape with the fruit cluster is a clue?
Your comments, or information is sought. Thanks, Steve
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Salaams archer ~ Excellent pictures ! If I may deal with the 7 ringer;
So where is the 7 ringer khanjar/jambiyya from? It looks almost identical to the Omani 7 ringer and must be related except of course it is the Saudia version..(but likely to be originally Yemeni) In Oman this one is referred to as Habaabi but there is no such place in Saudia called that..The root could be abha and there is an Abha in the Jazan.. very much in the bottom corner in Saudia Arabia and until relatively recently it was Yemen ... In fact the people look the same dress the same and build the same style etc etc. I have seen pictures of tribesmen wearing this style from that region. What is difficult to trace is whether the dagger style migrated or was influenced by the Omani style (elements of that design occur in all the Omani Khanjar variants including the Royal Khanjar) and that could have taken place by sea or via the overland camel train route... I have to say it is a puzzle. Of course Yemen in the shape of the disintegration of the Marib Dam between the 3rd and 6th Century AD was the source of a huge population drift from Yemen into Oman. I know a Yemeni trader here in Buraimi and intend to question him at length tomorrow.
The question of the strange chain near the Quba is that as in the Omani 7 ringer variant it is to attach to the waist belt and hold the weapon steady; normally there is a button at about that point on the belt and used as the anchor point ...
I would like to ascertain if the style stretches down the entire or part of the Red Sea coast as far as Aden, Mocha and al Hudayda The latter being a possible mistake in the translation of Habaabi??
Regards Ibrahiim al Balooshi.
P.S. translucent hilt... indicates Rhino..What we call Zraf (not giraffe). (Wahid al Garn; the one horn.. thus the Rhino) The fruit cluster which look like mini cannon balls are from the Mulberry Fruit tree that grows wild in Yemen and Oman.. This is copied onto dagger decorations and Islamic Jewellery all over the region. Ruth Hawley "Omani Silver." Refers.