Lew,
Yes, I also think that the silver design on top of the hilt has some Mecca imagery. The dagger is heavy, with chunky silver and has a rural feel about it.
I've attached another photo.
There are many interesting points about this group but one is the other silver hilted dagger. I have seen a few of this style around. The silver is quite thin but of high quality and wears with use very quickly. I think the dagger originated in Assir. However if you look at Elgood p.91/92 I think you can see the same dagger in the Hadramaut in 1943 and if you look at Artzi's home page the same dagger is there with a Mecca style scabbard. I think Artzi's one looks the most natural and is probably closest to it's original format. Unfortunately I can't get a clear close up to really examine the total jambiya. I have attached a small photo from the web page.
Goes to show how these daggers got around - but we are not talking about large distances in the Assir/Yemen area.
Steve
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