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Originally Posted by kahnjar1
Nothing to do with the departure of the Jewish as these were (mainly) silversmiths.
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Salaams~ Not entirely so~ Please see
http://www.hebrewhistory.info/factpa...1_gold.htm#ch7 which sets down the regional Jewish specialities that as you know encompass certain blades including of course Yemeni Janbia, belts etc. They were also the artesans in lampmaking, tailor made items, gold and silversmiths, and both Yemeni Muslim and Jewish wedding jewelers.
I am aware that pre 1948 the finest daggers
The Jambia were made by Jewish hands; It would be most peculiar if these craftsmen were not involved in sword making...not only the lavish and superb hilt and scabbard makers of wedding swords but in the production of blades..they certainly made the other related tools such as ploughs and digging implements commonly associated with blade making. Surely they were the best blacksmiths in Yemen? It should also be observed that I am not simply saying they made the blades... they possibly may not have ... but production of swords did not necessarily mean they made the blades as well... "Sword production" ...fitting swords together...importing blades...and adding hilts and scabbards was also common. They had on their doorstep a sword making region in Hadramaut...and of course imports from Hyderabad..
In fact Jewish involvement in the pan Indian Oceanic spices trade (see reference) ensured that they would have been very much front and centre in importing iron and steel around the region. We know that the Yemeni traders were well into land ownership in Java etc and were part of the scenery in Hyderabad...It is my view that amongst these traders were the famous mercantile traders ... The Jews.
The fog appears around the late 1940s and not long after with the continued exodus. It is easy to see how history erodes their speciality from Yemeni artefacts.
How decoration and quality has been affected in the Nimcha is hard to ascertain but I cannot imagine a sword made in Yemen to be so badly constructed in the hilt ...being allowed to exist before 1948... in a region boasting the finest hilt makers in the world. After 1948, however, there was a huge decline in craftsmanship.
Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.