Zanzibar or Omani Jambiya?

[mrcjgscott]

I somehow forgot to add this image of the blade unsheathed...

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Originally Posted by mrcjgscott

I somehow forgot to add this image of the blade unsheathed...

Salaams mrcjgscott, This is an interesting khanjar. The weapon is from the Sharqiyyah as already outlines by Stu...and the hilt by which this khanjar also gets its name is Saifaani ...This is Rhino horn ...It is true that the import point of the horn would have been the regions seaport at Sur...for centuries the contact trade port with Zanzibar and Africa. Likely place of manufacture; Mudhaabi or Sannau(Sinaw). I confirm the same provenance of Stus Khanjar.

Mudhaibi is the largest willaya(county) in Ash Sharqiyah region of Oman. incorporating Sinaw is one of the most popular suqs in Oman. Dresses, khanjars and jewelry are sold there. They also make Khanjars there.

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi

[mrcjgscott]

Originally Posted by Ibrahiim al Balooshi

Salaams mrcjgscott, This is an interesting khanjar. The weapon is from the Sharqiyyah as already outlines by Stu...and the hilt by which this khanjar also gets its name is Saifaani ...This is Rhino horn ...It is true that the import point of the horn would have been the regions seaport at Sur...for centuries the contact trade port with Zanzibar and Africa. Likely place of manufacture; Mudhaabi or Sannau(Sinaw). I confirm the same provenance of Stus Khanjar.

Mudhaibi is the largest willaya(county) in Ash Sharqiyah region of Oman. incorporating Sinaw is one of the most popular suqs in Oman. Dresses, khanjars and jewelry are sold there. They also make Khanjars there.

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi

Greetings Ibrahiim,

Many thanks indeed for your comments.

Very interesting that you confirm the hilt as being made of Rhino horn, I was worried my pictures did not give enough details.

Was this a dagger which anybody could have purchased, or is it something a little more special?

Do you think this is an early 20th example, as I have guessed?

With kind regards,

Chirs

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Originally Posted by mrcjgscott

Greetings Ibrahiim,

Many thanks indeed for your comments.

Very interesting that you confirm the hilt as being made of Rhino horn, I was worried my pictures did not give enough details.

Was this a dagger which anybody could have purchased, or is it something a little more special?

Do you think this is an early 20th example, as I have guessed?

With kind regards,

Chirs

Salaams mrcjgscott Also have a look at http://khanjar.om/Types.html

That site is excellent but I have spoken to locals from that region and they indicate from Sinaw whereas the site pulls more toward Sur...If it is a Sur Khanjar it would be smaller ...that is about the only difference...It is called Suri or more than likely Saifaani(if the handle is Rhino*) and possibly someone could refer to it as specifically Sanaw or they could also quite rightly call it a Sharqiyya...Rather depending which way the wind is blowing...and they would all be right.

(*In fact the dagger handle on the item shown by Stu has more the design form of Saifaani name going by the two 5 petal silver floral pins.) The two discs on the project item look like brass and not original...I suggest they are replacements and the two discs should be like Stus example.

On age it is always very tricky...since khanjars are always being upgraded and parts exchanged...so it looks 25 years old but not older than 1950...not younger than 1980...be happy with between 1960 and 70...I would say about 1970...There is no science in this.... it is only approximate...
Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

[mrcjgscott]

Hello Ibrahiim,

I spoke to the owner this morning, and passed on the information recieved so far, which was of great interest, and he sends his sincere thanks.

He says the only thing he would question is the date, as the dagger was brought home by his great grandfather, and has been in the family for roughly 100 years, his great grandfather having retired in 1920.

I also enquired the blade length, which in a straight line is six inches.

Interesting that you mention the discs being replacements, this would fit in with my theory that the hilt has been repaired in the past. I presume that is fairly normal for a working dagger?

Kind regards,

Chris

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Originally Posted by mrcjgscott

Hello Ibrahiim,

I spoke to the owner this morning, and passed on the information recieved so far, which was of great interest, and he sends his sincere thanks.

He says the only thing he would question is the date, as the dagger was brought home by his great grandfather, and has been in the family for roughly 100 years, his great grandfather having retired in 1920.

I also enquired the blade length, which in a straight line is six inches.

Interesting that you mention the discs being replacements, this would fit in with my theory that the hilt has been repaired in the past. I presume that is fairly normal for a working dagger?

Kind regards,

Chris

Well there you have it... Dating artefacts that have been in deep storage or just sitting being an exhibit is really hard... armed with those facts and vectoring in those details makes it much more accurate to deduce...The weapon is at least 100 years old. It has probable repairs to the hilt in the shape of those non silver rings... thus 100 plus say 20 years added for the repair time scale ...add on 10 years = 130 YEARS OLD.... which is quite old for a Khanjar... Replacing parts is completely normal...again making age guestimates almost impossible...Old blades are often re used time and again... as are Rhino Hilts.

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

[mrcjgscott]

Originally Posted by Ibrahiim al Balooshi

Well there you have it... Dating artefacts that have been in deep storage or just sitting being an exhibit is really hard... armed with those facts and vectoring in those details makes it much more accurate to deduce...The weapon is at least 100 years old. It has probable repairs to the hilt in the shape of those non silver rings... thus 100 plus say 20 years added for the repair time scale ...add on 10 years = 130 YEARS OLD.... which is quite old for a Khanjar... Replacing parts is completely normal...again making age guestimates almost impossible...Old blades are often re used time and again... as are Rhino Hilts.

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

Thank you Ibrahiim,

Dating most things can be difficult merely from photographs I find, so thank you for the revised date estimate. That would seem to fit in with what I have learned about the dagger.

It would seem "Khanjar" share many characteristics with other traditional regional knives, such as long use, reuse of good old blades and repair of parts to keep them in service, etc.

When things like that are broken down, it seems that most people really weren't too different, despite geographic contrast.

All the best, and thanks again.

Chris