Well, here are some more pics, as it never hurts to have pics.
Kronckew, my flyssa is very much like yours, with near-identical floral decoration on the spine. Actually, this is also very much like that on Lew's example, but i think his lost some of the brass.
Now I wonder if these variations represent different artisan hands, or the same at different times. If we take it that these "high-quality" flyssa were the work of the Iflissen, then did the same design persist over the years, or were most pieces produced in a short time period?
A detailed study of all of these would be interesting...anyone care to send me their flyssa for analysis?
I got around to uploading "Sabres Kabyles" by Camille Lacoste-Desjardinds. I've ranted on before about this treatise and I highly recommend it if you can read French...
http://rapidshare.com/files/40972393/sabresKabyles.pdf
Emanuel