Lew Waldman's Ethnographic Arms & Armour Collection Archive


1117 - Arabian Shafra with Decorated Silver Hilt

The shafra is a utility knife that would be carried within a sheath fixed behind the jambiya or khanjar. The single edged blade has a thick spine and is straight in the axis of the hilt for about the first two-fifths of the blade length before turning about 20º towards the edge and continuing relatively straight but ever so slightly concave to the tip. The back of the blade is thickened to 0.2 inch (0.5 cm) with repeated crossed incisures along the edge of the raised area. The back of the spine is decorated with transverse and crossed incised lines. The blade is about 0.06 inch (0.15 cm) through the primary flat faces. The burnished surface is somewhat irregular and there is a suggestion that the tip may have been reground after damage. The blade measures 6½ inches (1.65 cm) in length on the edged size. A brass bolster with inscribed crossed lines manages the transition into a hilt with a wooden core that is covered by embossed silver with geometric and floral patterns. There is some minor denting and deformation of the silver at the end of the hilt. Overall length is just over 11½ inches (29.7 cm) with a weight of 5.7 ounces (162 grams).


Arabian Shafra with Decorated Silver Hilt

Arabian Shafra with Decorated Silver Hilt

Arabian Shafra with Decorated Silver Hilt



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