Lew Waldman's Ethnographic Arms & Armour Collection Archive


1002 - Moroccan Koummya Dagger

This Moroccan Berber / Arabic style dagger appears to be from the first half of the 20th century and has a wooden handle trimmed with 'white' metal (German or nickel silver) and a brass scabbard with similar 'white' metal trim. While one can buy a lot of handiwork in modern tourist koummyas, this example appears to have been made for local wear and has clearly seen use. As may be seen in the photos, some of the 'white' metal has broken away from the central panel and that end of the panel, though rigid, lies without underlying attachment. A cracked and repaired area of the scabbard is likely associated with losses to a brighter brass chape along the far convex end and also crimping is present at the curve back of the scabbard. A number of presumed Arabic inscriptions and an unknown symbolic device are engraved on the scabbard. The blades in these daggers are so often unimpressive, but this blade is quite well-crafted. The unmarked 9 1/2 inch long blade has a well defined midrib with concave faces where adjacent to unsharpened edges and flattening adjacent to sharpened edges. Overall length of hilt and blade is 15 inches.




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