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Old 30th July 2010, 07:57 PM   #5
T. Sketo
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Join Date: Apr 2010
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Having grown up and spent over 30 years in Saudi - this piece is indeed most probably from Jaizan area due to its design which I've seen a lot in SW Arabia. some in Saudi use the yemeni style belt and leather covered sheath especially in the Najran area of Sw arabia and surroundings where a lot of the folk were origianlly Yemeni Shi'ites of the Yam tribe who agreed to ally with Sauai Arabia if they were allowed religeous freedom from Sunni Wahbism when that area was annexed to Saudi.

The belt appears to be Yemeni and the Jewish star on the blade is most likely used to denote or more correctly imply on newer pieces that it was made by Jewish yemeni smiths or craftsman for I have a number of them with both real and false Jewish makers marks on their blades and also soldered onto the back of of some of my North/South Yemeni scabbards of both Janbiya's and the long Sabak or Sabiki Tawils that you find in that SW area of Saudi and sometimes in Yemen.

The antiuque works of the old Jewish daggersmiths are indeed getting scarce in Yemen and their prices command a high level of purchase and respect in Yemen as the old Jewish silves smiths were considered to do the best work in the country for centuries and even today in Israel the Yemeni granulation technique is hghly prized.

After the establishment of the state of israel most all Yemni Jews were allowed to leave but the Jewish silver and gold smith were required to saty until they passed their trade on to local Muslim smiths. As referenced by the esteem in which their work is held now and the absebce of any real good silver work on new Yemeni Muslim made daggers it is apparent that their effort was not entirely successful.

Unfortunatlly, in Yemen as in many oif the other Arab gulf countries none of the young people have a desire nor want to take the time for the requisite apprenticeship and learning to make a life of a humble smith with the result that old quality silver worked pieces have become scarce.

The only country in the gulf that has kept this silver and dagger making practice alive to any artistic dgeree as a national art has been the Sultanate of Oman. Years ago the Sultan Qaboos directed that dagger smithing be kept alive as a ciultural art wherein men were to wear them as pasrt of national costume. This has created a social support network to help keep the art alive.

In all honesty this piece is of moderate quality and has most likely had the Jewish satr and language added to improve its value or as a talisman of some sort. A lot of them will say (as mine do on several - "Malabous al-afia) "Health to the wearer" or "May it bring the wearer good health. I believe that the apparent woman figure opposite the star is a drawn reference to the Queen of Sheba for I have them same figure on one of my janbiyas.



Please feel free to contact me off forum at 334-300-6228 or at sketost@alaweb.com if you have any question sor would like to discuss this piece further.
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