Thouma Jambiya by BOUSANI

[Atlantia]

What a great piece Stu. Excellent all round, I bet you're well chuffed?
I know I would be if it were mine
Well done buddy.

[kahnjar1]

Originally Posted by Atlantia

What a great piece Stu. Excellent all round, I bet you're well chuffed?
I know I would be if it were mine
Well done buddy.

[Dom]

Hi Stu
excellent jambiya , especially with his belt, accessories
and the stamp of the master craftsman, which authenticates the origin

if one day you look for a shelter for it, I should ... surely find a place
thanks to have given us the pleasure to share with us

all the best

à +

Dom

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Salaams Khanjar 1~ This is indeed an important addition to Forum reminding us that these silversmiths are all but lost to history although there is a handful left operating in Yemen. It further serves to illustrate the linkage and influence reflected in Omani silverwork underscored by Ruth Hawley in her famous pamphlet Omani Silver who states that Quote "Jews too may have worked silver in Oman".Unquote. She goes on to draw several parallels with Omani and Yemeni silver designs.

See http://thewalters.org/eventscalendar...ls.aspx?e=2548 for further work by such Yemeni Jewish masters including important buckle identification and another Thuma.

Jesus ben Sirach (Ecclesiastus) writing during the Greek period at the end of the third century BCE, describes the activity of Judaic smiths in vivid poetry:

The maker of carving and cunning device,
Who by night as by day has no rest,
Who engraveth signet rings,
Whose art is to make the likeness true,
And his anxiety is to complete the work.
So also the smith that sitteth by the furnace,
And regardeth his weighty vessels;
The flame of the fire cracketh his flesh,
And with the heat of his furnace he gloweth;
To the hammer's sound he inclineth his ear,
And to the vessel's pattern he directeth his eyes.

For an interesting historical version of Jewish craftsmanship including their presence in Yemen and other countries in Arabia see http://www.hebrewhistory.info/factpa...017-1_gold.htm

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Originally Posted by Ibrahiim al Balooshi

Salaams Khanjar 1~ This is indeed an important addition to Forum reminding us that these silversmiths are all but lost to history although there is a handful left operating in Yemen. It further serves to illustrate the linkage and influence reflected in Omani silverwork underscored by Ruth Hawley in her famous pamphlet Omani Silver who states that Quote "Jews too may have worked silver in Oman".Unquote. She goes on to draw several parallels with Omani and Yemeni silver designs.

See http://thewalters.org/eventscalendar...ls.aspx?e=2548 for further work by such Yemeni Jewish masters including important buckle identification and another Thuma.

Jesus ben Sirach (Ecclesiastus) writing during the Greek period at the end of the third century BCE, describes the activity of Judaic smiths in vivid poetry:

The maker of carving and cunning device,
Who by night as by day has no rest,
Who engraveth signet rings,
Whose art is to make the likeness true,
And his anxiety is to complete the work.
So also the smith that sitteth by the furnace,
And regardeth his weighty vessels;
The flame of the fire cracketh his flesh,
And with the heat of his furnace he gloweth;
To the hammer's sound he inclineth his ear,
And to the vessel's pattern he directeth his eyes.

For an interesting historical version of Jewish craftsmanship including their presence in Yemen and other countries in Arabia see http://www.hebrewhistory.info/factpa...017-1_gold.htm

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

**************************************
Salaams Khanjar 1.
On closer inspection I note a number of anomalies with the assembled item.

1. The Dagger is added and comes from an ordinary Jambia.
2. It appears that there may be 3 items of silver from different smiths ~

a. The stamped girdle buckle.
b. The top rectangle of the scabbard.
c. The rest of the scabbard furniture. (and probably the belt buttons)

The belt is probably a random Yemeni belt.

It may be that the items 2a and 2c are linked though a simple inspection to the reverse should identify the stamps perhaps?

So that a clear picture can be made on forum can you kindly say which parts are original and which parts were placed by you?

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

[kahnjar1]

Originally Posted by Ibrahiim al Balooshi

**************************************
Salaams Khanjar 1.
On closer inspection I note a number of anomalies with the assembled item.

1. The Dagger is added and comes from an ordinary Jambia.
2. It appears that there may be 3 items of silver from different smiths ~

a. The stamped girdle buckle.
b. The top rectangle of the scabbard.
c. The rest of the scabbard furniture. (and probably the belt buttons)

The belt is probably a random Yemeni belt.

It may be that the items 2a and 2c are linked though a simple inspection to the reverse should identify the stamps perhaps?

So that a clear picture can be made on forum can you kindly say which parts are original and which parts were placed by you?

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

The whole item is as I received it. Unlike some, I do not replace parts of the original to try and create something else.
You state that the work is that of three different smiths. Perhaps you could enlighten us with their names, and the particular features which identify them??

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Originally Posted by kahnjar1

The whole item is as I received it. Unlike some, I do not replace parts of the original to try and create something else.
You state that the work is that of three different smiths. Perhaps you could enlighten us with their names, and the particular features which identify them??

The three different smiths ah yes ... I believe one of them is Bedihi and the other Bawdani (Boudani) and though the stamp is upside down I cannot make it out on the girth buckle but Dom reckons Aaron etc etc...so thats three.

(Frankly Im not "so concerned" with the silver stamps since the one in question is likely to be Jewish and they were all pretty brilliant silversmiths... which is why it may be worth looking on the reverse of the plates.)

It depends what you mean by identifying them as they were very similar in design...all Im pointing out is that there appears to be more than one style and perhaps as many as three ... or four if you include the dagger.
The rectangular plate at the throat of the scabbard is certainly Jewish work but of a much older date...it is evenly very worn with a deeper patina and a quality to it that speaks of Bedihi in my view.
The bigger plates below may be Bawdani; certainly Jewish but not as old...
The belt buckle dominant feature marking it as different from the others is the very long leaf folded silver wire designs probably a speciality of Aaron... by the way there is an item missing which is the other bit of the buckle and an example can be seen at http://vividvault.com/wp-content/upl...-end-Yemen.jpg

Remember that they were making weapons not for themselves but solely for the Yemeni clients so anything could have happened afterwards. In terms of jewellery you probably realise that though Jewish women wore different items of jewellery from the Yemenis notably since it was worn for different reasons mainly practical around the hood of their cloaks but occasionally and for talismanic reasons they wore the jewellery of "the others" as protection from djinns etc....that it was all made by the same Jewish smiths is quite formidable... but it perhaps underscores how difficult tracing stamps may turn out to be because there were many and all of a sudden they almost all vanished.

This is an immense subject but since the door has been opened it can run and run especially on the vast detail as yet uncatalogued about hallmarks/stamps... I would have thought that would have been something to work on since you don't appear to have time for restoration it seems ? Better to leave it to the experts I suppose

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.