Thouma Jambiya by BOUSANI

[kahnjar1]

Originally Posted by Ibrahiim al Balooshi

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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.

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Salaams,
I asked my workshops people to look at the item in case from the restoration/ workshop bench angle further clues could be gleaned by their expert eyes. They think the dagger has been worked on with the addition of a new blade and gilding work on the two floral flowers both added recently. There is araldite behind the top flower (or some odd glue). The hilt is cowhorn. There are several silver styles of different makers.

The scabbard has two different silver makers work with as I said earlier the top rectangle being older, probably antique, though both styles appear to be Jewish Yemeni work. The leather normally expected to line the outer wooden sheath is missing in the top section at least.

The belt is probably a replacement (not that unusual) with a girth buckle as described and floral buttons.

The general consensus is that the project has been worked up from a series of spare parts by a workshop/restorer and aimed not at the Arab market but at the foreign collector/tourist market.

Why? This is a lesson for all beginners in collecting Southern Arabian (and Omani) daggers; The first thing a local observes on inspecting a weapon is the blade. The second thing is the hilt. Two items which are normally quite expensive. Cheap blades/cheap hilts both = Tourist daggers.

Jewish Yemeni makers clients were Yemeni Arabs..Very decerning about their daggers as "badge of office" and willing to pay the price for top quality blades and hilts ~ Thuma or Jambia ~ Neither this blade nor this hilt would adorn the original finely worked scabbard. The final inspection would be on the third subject "the scabbard and belt". The discerning local buyer would probably be looking for silver workmanship from one craftsman; not several.

On the other hand collectors (and tourists) tend not to be so concerned about the blade and provided the scabbard looks ok and the hilt looks reasonable they often take on project worked items of this quality. On the one hand adorned with some superb Jewish plates and on the other less well matched additions though giving an over all impression of "nice."

So it is with the restorers eye that I have reverse engineered this project dagger showing about 6 stages of a reworked/ rebuilding process designed to reintroduce the Thuma onto the international market by cleverly masking the real situation. So the lessons for inspection are important; Consider first the blade then the hilt~ If they aren't up to the mark it is likely not to be real. If its not real its "likely" to be a tourist dagger.

Khanjar 1 whilst I am very upbeat about the Jewish Yemeni stamp and even more so about the superb Jewish Yemeni silver rectangle at the throat of the scabbard, I have to be honest with the restoration revue but at the same time urge further research into the important area of Jewish involvement especially in the stamps. Steven Gracies superb work on Yemeni daggers is a good starting point for anyone researching the general subject and the pictures are brilliant.

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

[kahnjar1]

Salaams Ibrahiim,
I find your comments really interesting especially considering that most of the Khanjars and Jambiyas you display on your many posts are obviously new, or at least well worked over so that any originality has been destroyed.
If the Bousani has been worked on in the past, at least it still shows some age, and a good deal of its originality. Bousani was well known for fine silver work, BUT ALSO for pierced work.
It is a well known fact, at least in Yemen, that the Jambiyas themselves are often replaced in an old and original scabbard, so I am not at all surprised if this Jambiya is a replacement, and is not the same age as the rest of the "set".
If you have Steve Gracie's book, and your comments suggest that you have, then maybe you should read it, and particularly note the comments he makes regarding the making of the Jambiya "set". Steve does currently, and has in the past, travelled extensivly in Yemen and has many contacts there, and I believe that he knows what he is talking about.

[A.alnakkas]

Yemeni, Omani and Saudi items tend to have slightly different decoration scheme at the throat then the rest of the scabbard. Just because the throat is different then the rest doesnt say much about the age or replacement.

Also the assessment about the blade is... so made up its not even funny. There is nothing that suggests the blade to be of poor quality or 'not fit for the scabbard'

Agree on the hilt though.

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Originally Posted by A.alnakkas

Yemeni, Omani and Saudi items tend to have slightly different decoration scheme at the throat then the rest of the scabbard. Just because the throat is different then the rest doesnt say much about the age or replacement.

Also the assessment about the blade is... so made up its not even funny. There is nothing that suggests the blade to be of poor quality or 'not fit for the scabbard'

Agree on the hilt though.

Salaams A.alnakkas ~ On the subject of the top rectangle~Its not so important a point really since the very interesting detail is in the craftsmanship of the various silver plates in general. Looking closely however at the wear on the top section it seems to be far older than the remainder... Im not denegrating it in any way because of that.. I am reverse engineering what I believe to be a project piece put together from spare parts albeit rather nice in places and having described the mental process a local buyer goes through when examining a potential purchase. Even if you think the blade is original (I don't neither does Khanjar ! see #1 Quote"The blade is nothing out of the ordinary" Unquote..) there is a question over the hilt as you have agreed and further I suggest that the gold floral buttons are recent and done deliberately to match the floral decor in the scabbard. I simply reverse engineered that thus the entire hilt comes into question as per my previous post suggesting it is a 6 part restoration project.
I stick to my revue on that score but that should not deflect the thread which I believe can go on to discus Jewish-Yemeni craftsmanship in some depth.
Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Originally Posted by kahnjar1

Salaams Ibrahiim,
I find your comments really interesting especially considering that most of the Khanjars and Jambiyas you display on your many posts are obviously new, or at least well worked over so that any originality has been destroyed.
If the Bousani has been worked on in the past, at least it still shows some age, and a good deal of its originality. Bousani was well known for fine silver work, BUT ALSO for pierced work.
It is a well known fact, at least in Yemen, that the Jambiyas themselves are often replaced in an old and original scabbard, so I am not at all surprised if this Jambiya is a replacement, and is not the same age as the rest of the "set".
If you have Steve Gracie's book, and your comments suggest that you have, then maybe you should read it, and particularly note the comments he makes regarding the making of the Jambiya "set". Steve does currently, and has in the past, travelled extensivly in Yemen and has many contacts there, and I believe that he knows what he is talking about.

Salaams kahnjar1 ~ Your opener is odd since certainly I show the ancient battle swords and Khanjars old and new..perhaps your computer screen is affected by the light... or needs adjusting We do a lot of new work that is true but that is the subtle difference in understanding old and new ethnographic arms. Oddly the ancient techniques are ongoing and whereas a local buyer will purchase antique and old work there is a huge demand for brand new pieces. I don't think my pictures divulge any loss in originality though it is also true that clients want clean Khanjars. After all, it only takes a very short time for the khanjars to develop patina since the silver oxidises very fast. Etho arms collectors internationally want patina but here, "where the metal meets the meat"... they don't.

Studying this item is a good way to absorb a lot of the specialist techniques in the earlier Jewish dominated silver crafts of Yemen. This isn't a competition nor is it a show of whos got the nicest lollipop but whilst forum members are absolutely within their rights to sensationalise with comments like wow, oooh, super, lovely and I wish I had one, other more serious comments must be expected which can sometimes lead to a heated, debated, discussion. In that way often fresh facts pop out or the thread ploughs forth into unknown but fascinating territory. The end result is a forum winner. A team effort.

I dont have the book by Steve Gracie but I'm getting it.

All my knowledge comes from hands on and common sense... plus a certain amount of web work and reading our forum library. Because of the influence on Omani ethnographics it is vital for me to get on top of the Yemeni subject.

Incidentally ~ There are two books that I may have reccommended to forum that I regret to report should be struck off viz;

1.Ethnic Jewellery edited by John Mack published for the trustees of the British Museum ( at the time of publication he was Keeper at the Museum of Mankind(department of Ethnography) , The British Museum. The book comprises 207 pages of work with a special chapter devoted to The Middle East.

2.Arab and Islamic Silver by Dr. Saad al Jadir. 216 pages with a vast 37 page section devoted to Oman and Yemen.

Neither book mentions Jewish Silver Craftsmanship; neither in the sections devoted to Yemen nor in the sections on adjoining countries... It is like they never existed. Nothing exists in the index or in the body of the books. The books must have been proof read by an ethnographic elimination panel. They are washed clean of any mention of Jewish Craftsmanship in all respects... I was shocked. I threw them away.

Therefor I look forward to getting a decent book on the subject.

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

[ariel]

I guess the "hands-on" source of info is tremendously important. When local contemporary masters who are actively involved in restoration of old weapons and manufacture of new ones tell me that they can see signs of renovation and of recent assembly, I tend to take their opinion seriously.
There is nothing personal here. That's what this Forum is for. If we want to hold our collections in unqualified esteem, we should not show them to strangers and ask for input. We may have our balloons popped. Some of mine certainly were :-)
With best wishes to all.

[kahnjar1]

Originally Posted by ariel

I guess the "hands-on" source of info is tremendously important. When local contemporary masters who are actively involved in restoration of old weapons and manufacture of new ones tell me that they can see signs of renovation and of recent assembly, I tend to take their opinion seriously.
There is nothing personal here. That's what this Forum is for. If we want to hold our collections in unqualified esteem, we should not show them to strangers and ask for input. We may have our balloons popped. Some of mine certainly were :-)
With best wishes to all.

I totally agree that "hands on" experience is the best way to judge. Most of the "comments" here are coming from a position (in his own words) of lack of knowledge of Yemeni items. I have absolutely no doubt that Ibrahiims knowledge of OMANI items is vaste, but we are not talking Omani.
Please don't get me wrong, as if I was not seeking comment (good and bad) I would not have posted this Jambiya here. I have however total confidence in Steve Gracie, who would have one of the best collections of Yemeni items outside Yemen. He is also well travelled in that area, and has a wealth of knowledge on the subject.
This Jambiya has "been around" but is NOT as Ibrahiim seems to think a "put together piece". We will leave that description for those who manufacture replicas.

[spiral]

Originally Posted by ariel

If we want to hold our collections in unqualified esteem, we should not show them to strangers and ask for input. We may have our balloons popped.

Excelent & very true comment Ariel.

A fascinating thread indeed.

I dont know if it helps but heres a fewsnippets to add to the pot.

First a couple of silver marks...

I wonder if they are of relevance here I suspect they are?

Secondly. In "cult of the Jambiya" by Schuyler V.R. Camman {1977}

Schuler states several intersting things re. the Yemeni jambiya inc....

Spiral

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