Nimcha: opinions and translations?

[Tatyana Dianova]

Ok, the scabbard is gone ... and it is gone forever...

Jens, I think you are right about the left side (the dot markings are on the opposite side of the blade if you look at the pictures 1 and 2).

Kirill Rivkin have sent me his opinion on the sword, which I find quite logical. Quote:
"I highly doubt that the blade is european in origin. The style of
eyelashes and the fact that the pattern is repeated many times suggest a
local copy. Arabic engravings on blade's sides look acid etched to me,
which likely indicates post 1860 origin. On the blade's back side there is
an engraving which seems to be year and signature, also I would not say
anything conclusive without better pictures. Acid etching on the blade
is most likely citations from Quran. Similar blades were produced by
almost everyone, the font does not seem to be Nastaliq, which means it is
likely to be non-persian. It does not seem like a classical caucasian
work either. I suspect it was made in late XIXth century in some part of
the Ottoman Empire, North Africa or other."
And also, in the next letter:
"I have looked at a few pieces and it seems that Zanzibar/North Africa was a little bit faster in adopting etching - 1820s or later, but the style still seems a little bit later than this to me."

I will try to make the better pictures of the inscription on the back side and post them later.

[ALEX]

This is VERY NICE SWORD Tatjana.
According to A.Tirri description, this is: "...Moroccan Nimcha, 19th Cent.... with 3 downturned guillions and one upturned guillion which serves as a hand guard. Rhino horn was used to augment the aura of virility of the sword bearer. Blades were mostly imported from Europe..."
The hilt does look like Rhino. And the guard is of interesting form. I have similarly formed guard on a Spanish sword (will post it next), but it has a bar connecting two ends together.
The writing is indeed in Arabic, but of an old Arabic form/alphabet. Not easy to read, but the etched sentence has word Allah, and is most likely the Quranic verse (as pointed by Kirill). The chiseled word (on the right side of the 4th picture) reads "Hussein" (which is also a name of the Prophet Mohammad grandson).

[Tatyana Dianova]

OK, here are the promised pictures of the chiseled inscriptions on the back of the blade. One of the sentences seems to contain a date (12??).
Also I would like to share a couple of professional pictures sent to me by seller of this nimcha. When I have seen them, I immediately fell in love with this sword :-)

[Valjhun]

Yes, I agree. Trully a very nice piece you have. I vote for Morocco.

I would suggest that it is maybe a composite piece. I mean that the crossguard was not initially made for that precise sword. I can't immagine the original master would put toghether koftgari (or goldplating whatever) and enammel techique. Nevertheless very nice piece.

Is the pommel cap also enammeled? Can you post a photo?

I also think that the blade is not european.

The hilt does look like rhino to me. Try to do a close up shot with flash.

[Tatyana Dianova]

Thanks everybody for interesting replies!

I have found similar nimcha example on this forum, belonging to RSWORD, and this sword also has gold koftgari AND enamel decorations!
Please take a look:
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=128

I also have made a requested pictures:

[Tim Simmons]

The enamel work reminds me of work from the Kabilye . I will try and show what mean.

[Battara]

When RSword brought his piece over to my place, I tested the gold mounts and determined that they were over 10k and heavey!

Congratulations on your piece - I'm envious - not many around.

[Jim McDougall]

This is indeed a classic example of the Moroccan sa'if commonly referred to as a 'nimcha'. The hilt form with its distinct quillon system is characteristic of these swords and has existed in regions of the Maghreb littoral since the 17th century. The hilt form itself apparantly evolved from early Italian influence carried via the well established trade routes into North Africa, and is thought to have influenced other hilts such as the Sinhalese kastane in the more eastern extensions of those trade routes. This was discussed by Anthony North of the Victoria & Albert I believe in about 1975.

The stamped semi circles and three dot arrangements do indeed reflect the early markings associated with Genoan and possibly other N.Italian blade makers. Through trade these distinct markings diffused to other blade centers including, as Ariel mentions, the Caucasian locations. In my opinion this blade form seems consistant with trade blades, possibly German or European which seem to occur on swords in Arabia and India c.end of 18th century to early 19th, with the so called 'eyelash' or 'sickle' marks often on them. The German blades on Scottish basket hilts of the 17th century have these markings, and the markings are of course well known in India, on the Afghan paluouar the marking is almost a constant, in the Caucusus these marks bring the quality term 'gurda' to so marked blades.

I agree with Kirill on his assessment of the acid etched inscriptions which were probably applied later in the 19th century. While the process was certainly known prior to this, it was then that it became more prevalent, especially in Ottoman regions among others. The Arabic script in motif on the face of the blade bears some resemblance to the thuluth applied in this manner in regions of the Sudan, though I am not implying this is thuluth, but one of the scripts used in this manner.

This is a beautiful example Tatyana!! Although the scabbard is absent, it does seem these are often found that way as the leather scabbards often do not survive. As with most weapons of North Africa, refurbishing was a constant process, and the integrity of the weapon itself is typically carried in the blade, which as we can see, reflects its history through its working life. Fascinating !!!

All best regards,
Jim