My first Omani Khanjar

[Richard G]

The "chequered" weaving of the silver wire between the bottom three rings is characteristic of jambiyas from the southern KSA and northern Yemen area.
Regards
Richard
See this discussion http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=18494

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Nice thread...Not Omani but probably KSA. What we have here is a little bit of right in most peoples posts...There are two main areas in Saudia where Omani Khanjars have influenced design viz;

The Asir way down south where the dagger appears to be taken from The Sayidiyyah 7 ringer and the Al Hasa Oasis where the Muscat Khanjar appears to have been favoured .. The two are very similar though the first born was The Muscat Khanjar and for sure Sheherazad would have used that as the basis when she redesigned the Royal Sayadiyyah weapon for her husband the ruler...It should be remembered that The Royal Khanjar could be either a 4 or a 7 ringer. (and I have seen odd varieties with more rings)

I follow Stu's main thrust here and view his dagger as the Al Hasa mark. It should be noted however that the small silver rectangles (flat diamond shaped) are not the exclusive domain of KSA daggers. See the same details on an Oman Khanjar below.

Your input is excellent Richard G.. about the fancy woven method of decorating the lower scabbard in criss cross wiring..(see below on an Asir weapon..which also has little silver rectangles) I agree that this form of criss cross decor appears on KSA examples.

What transpires because of this is the question... Do Omani Khanjars have this criss cross wiring? It would be easy to say no because I haven't seen any...

What also needs to be included is the grainy picture of the Khanjar at Omani Silver by Ruth Hawley see http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=14878 at #17 ..which appears to have the criss crossing style... Is this the illustrated weapon in Omani Silver a Muscat Khanjar? or from KSA ?... I have to say I am not now sure ...but I will find that out. It would be fairly amazing if we have a non Omani item in that publication...but I need to check it.

The loop decoration above the belt section UUUUUUU is the same on both weapons...and same as the weapon of Stu. The belt on the Ruth Hawley is not Omani! I think we have a problem Huston !! I will announce this immediately on The Omani Khanjar.

Blue Lander ~The filler material in the hilt appears to be degraded and crumbling..You may want to fill that with pitch.

What I often see on KSA weapons is a slightly more bulbous quba .. the toe or crown end of the scabbard.

For clues to where the diamond shape originates see below for Nizwa hirz boxes decorated in similar style...and an Omani Khanjar with that style of decoration and illustrated on "The Omani Khanjar" thread.

What is obvious is the copied in and frozen status of these weapons into the big trading areas of Asir (at the time part of Yemen) and Al Bahrein which as a huge region included Al Hasa Oasis... which I place firmly at the door of trade relations with Muscat. The access corridors for Al Hasa was by camel train from Buraimi and for both there and the Asir via(That weapon is called the Habbaabi from the key city of Abha) the shipping trade from Muscat etc.

Pictures below are mine or from the Richardson and Dorr Herritage volumes.

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.