Old Nimcha for Info and to share

Jim McDougall · 17th February 2021, 08:39 AM

I have always found the 'Maghrebi' sa'if (known as nimchas) fascinating and attractive swords. Teodor (TVV) has studied these probably more than anyone else I know and frankly I have learned a great deal on them from his insights and Kubur's well placed agreement on his comments I agree with as well.

As has been noted, there is little evidence of this hilt form prior to very late 16th century, early 17th. The hilt form probably evolved from Italian forms of the 16th century and diffused through the Arab trade spheres.

The term Maghrebi includes both Morocco and Algeria, where these swords prevailed, and were used by many tribal factions and groups, many of which were of course part of the Berber confederations. They were assembled with varied components following the traditional form hilt and typically with trade blades from various sources.

The reason the 19th century date assessment is most reasonable is that this period is that these were traditionally made up, often remounting older blades, and most recognized and had provenance to the colonial periods, as Teodor has noted.

The notes and suggestions on the symbols and decoration are most interesting, but typically these are most often aesthetically applied in these kinds of contexts. It is always tempting to seek symbolic imbuement on these ethnographic forms, and in some cases (as on the flyssa) they do exist, but not in those on this sword in my opinion.

The 'red numbers' on this example seem to me to correspond to such numbers from museum or collection markings.

The often 'lesser' quality of many of these 'nimchas' does not disqualify them as genuine tribal weapons, as these were still kept and worn traditionally by men in more recent times. Much of the character of these remounted weapons were reliant on the skills and access too materials of the person doing the work.

Attached is my example of nimcha which believe is of course 19th c. probably c.1830s? with the 'tear drop' effect quillon terminals.

17th February 2021, 08:39 AM	#13
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,194	I have always found the 'Maghrebi' sa'if (known as nimchas) fascinating and attractive swords. Teodor (TVV) has studied these probably more than anyone else I know and frankly I have learned a great deal on them from his insights and Kubur's well placed agreement on his comments I agree with as well. As has been noted, there is little evidence of this hilt form prior to very late 16th century, early 17th. The hilt form probably evolved from Italian forms of the 16th century and diffused through the Arab trade spheres. The term Maghrebi includes both Morocco and Algeria, where these swords prevailed, and were used by many tribal factions and groups, many of which were of course part of the Berber confederations. They were assembled with varied components following the traditional form hilt and typically with trade blades from various sources. The reason the 19th century date assessment is most reasonable is that this period is that these were traditionally made up, often remounting older blades, and most recognized and had provenance to the colonial periods, as Teodor has noted. The notes and suggestions on the symbols and decoration are most interesting, but typically these are most often aesthetically applied in these kinds of contexts. It is always tempting to seek symbolic imbuement on these ethnographic forms, and in some cases (as on the flyssa) they do exist, but not in those on this sword in my opinion. The 'red numbers' on this example seem to me to correspond to such numbers from museum or collection markings. The often 'lesser' quality of many of these 'nimchas' does not disqualify them as genuine tribal weapons, as these were still kept and worn traditionally by men in more recent times. Much of the character of these remounted weapons were reliant on the skills and access too materials of the person doing the work. Attached is my example of nimcha which believe is of course 19th c. probably c.1830s? with the 'tear drop' effect quillon terminals. Attached Images Last edited by Jim McDougall; 17th February 2021 at 08:53 AM.