Jambiya thouma

[DaveA]

Originally Posted by Kubur

...
I've seen somewhere on the forum that the jambiya with this drawings and inscriptions on the blades are very much connected to Jewish work from the 1950ties...

Virtually no Jewish artisans remained in Yemen after the 1949/1950 airlift to Israel. Jambiya from Yemen made after that date were almost certainly made by Muslims, or the few Jews who converted to Islam. I suppose it is possible my jambiya was made in Israel, but I think not.

Remember also that Muslims are forbidden to decorate with representational images (e.g., faces).

=Kubar
And the filigree work looks very different from the filigree work posted by Oriental Arms.

The Tuza is a unique type of filigree. See sources cited earlier.

=Kubar
The stamp at the back is a silver proof? Do they still use this silver proof in Yemen?


According to the resources I have (see links to documents to download elsewhere in this thread), artisans were forbidden in Yemen to sign their work in any manner after 1920.

I have not had this item tested for metallurgy.

Thanks for the questions.

Best,

Dave A.

[kahnjar1]

Originally Posted by DaveA

Virtually no Jewish artisans remained in Yemen after the 1949/1950 airlift to Israel. Jambiya from Yemen made after that date were almost certainly made by Muslims, or the few Jews who converted to Islam. I suppose it is possible my jambiya was made in Israel, but I think not.

Remember also that Muslims are forbidden to decorate with representational images (e.g., faces).

=Kubar
And the filigree work looks very different from the filigree work posted by Oriental Arms.

The Tuza is a unique type of filigree. See sources cited earlier.

=Kubar
The stamp at the back is a silver proof? Do they still use this silver proof in Yemen?


According to the resources I have (see links to documents to download elsewhere in this thread), artisans were forbidden in Yemen to sign their work in any manner after 1920.

I have not had this item tested for metallurgy.

Thanks for the questions.

Best,

Dave A.

Hi Dave, I have seen this type of blade decoration before also and cannot comment as to the origin of it. Possibly added later???
Regarding the "proof" stamp. Have a look under the backing leather if you can. I suspect that the "stamp" is in fact a separate piece of metal/silver. IF this was a makers STAMP then it would be just that....a stamp into the metal of the scabbard, and not attached later. (See example below) I have never heard of silver proofing in Yemen, but that is not to say that it did not happen.
Regards Stu

[Kubur]

Originally Posted by kahnjar1

Hi Dave, I have seen this type of blade decoration before also and cannot comment as to the origin of it. Possibly added later???
Regarding the "proof" stamp. Have a look under the backing leather if you can. I suspect that the "stamp" is in fact a separate piece of metal/silver. IF this was a makers STAMP then it would be just that....a stamp into the metal of the scabbard, and not attached later. (See example below) I have never heard of silver proofing in Yemen, but that is not to say that it did not happen.
Regards Stu

Someone translated these stamps???
Ottomans controled Yemen, it could be Silver proof...

[Kubur]

Originally Posted by DaveA

Remember also that Muslims are forbidden to decorate with representational images (e.g., faces).
Dave A.

Dear Dave,

Thank you for all these informations, I feel less stupid now!
Only one point is wrong. Muslims are forbiden to represent humans or animals in the moques. Islamic art is full of human figures. So it's not a point that we can link to Jews.

Regards,
Kubur