Jambiya from?
 

Not really my thing at all. Found in a junk shop, as the blade is more substantial than most I have seen and not too pricey I bought it. The blade had a few quite hard spots of rust but gone now. The scabbard appears to tinned or very light silver plated copper. I have to say that the hammer work is nicely done. rubbed to create copper high lights and some kind of black paste has been applied to produce contrast against the copper and white plating. This black medium has been liberally applied to add an aged look. Buffalo horn handle. To me it looks mid to late 20th century

Hello,

it is an Omani Khanjar and not a Jambiya. Of course that is only a name game because Jambiyas and Omani Khanjars are very similar.
Purists would saying , that your piece is not made in one of the traditional styles and normally silver tin was used for the mountings. So I would say it is late 20th century.
A buffalo horn handle is good, many modern pieces have plastic handles, also if they are made in traditional style and with silver mountings.
I would say nice modern Omani craftmanship.

Regards
Robin

20th century Omani khanjar, yes, but I do not think it is made in Oman.

My guess would be Indian workmanship.

I have just noticed this dot mark 65. year of manufacture? or the other way up something else?

Yes, Indian touristy version of the Omani khanjar (nice work through)
For the 65, maybe a limited edition?
:D

This pdf has lots of information. In particular how Morden young smiths no longer follow tradition in manufacture but mix styles to suit themselves.

https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/195632974.pdf

I could be dreaming but if the 65 is a date, that fits with British forces in the Dhofar Rebellion.:shrug:

Some elements of the ornament of this khanjar stylistically remind me of the elements characteristic of the Afghan weapons of the turn of the 19-20 century. I think the place of manufacture of this khanjar is Afghanistan or Pakistan. And not too long ago.

The repousse on these pieces is wonderful!

Yes, what I like about Oriental weapons is that you often can't see where the weapon ends and the work of art begins. :)

Thanks for the comments. I did not really expect such intrigue as I no little of this area. Where ever it was made it has a jolly nice blade, heavy and well formed. You can see where some hard rust spots were. The decorative elements though not my taste are very pretty. Could Gonzoadler be correct, Omani work to suit the makers eye rather than tradition? Anyway some close up pics. Thanks for the ideas.

PS I suspect the nails in the handle might be silver?

Thought I should include the back. I try google research Khanjar and Jambiya gets a bit confusing. How many Arab states wear these?

Doing a bit of comparison with old auction Omani Khanjar. Too my untrained eye my piece does show elements the same as these old examples. In that the scabbard is composed of three decorative sections. Admittedly the old examples have a separate decorated chape section. Mine does has a decorative suggestion of a chape. The old example shown with the blade out of the scabbard. Has the same but rather more crude, even though appears to be silver, flowing vine and flower design on the handle as mine.

Flat blades like that are Indians. I think the whole stuff is in Silver (low grade)
Could be an Indian from/in Oman, or an Indian from India, even more original...

Defiantly silver wash over copper one side far more rubbed than the over on the handle.

I think Kubur may well be right. Arab communities in south India. A long time back I post here an Indian bowie with a very similar decorated copper handle the same kind of work but the blade had silver inlay like on Dha. The trade between India and Burma led to mixed communities. The trade and communities on either side of the south Indian coast have crossovers. I will make a search but I doubt I will find it. Not to mention Zanzibar and other areas of Arab influence.

Found it from India. Pics are not the best.

Now it makes sense.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_in_Kerala

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burmese_Indians

Hi Tim,


I agree that commercial exchanges between India and Burma were reasonably common, especially after Britain took over much of Burma in the 19th C. The koftghari style of applying precious metal to blades is thought to have been imported into Burma from India. So I don't think we need to postulate a reverse migration for your knife. Using scored areas to apply and retain metal for decorative purposes is actually quite well spread in Southern and SE Asia.

More about Arabs in India. Perhaps they wear these on special occasions.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabs_in_India

Here we see a flat blade like mine Saudi/Yemen border region. Taken fron this rather lengthy thread 13 pages!!

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...jambiya&page=3

No Sir
yours is flat flat
this one has a ridge
and as Ian said, no need to go to South East Asia, Indians are still present in Oman.
I still think that your khanjar was made in India

Jambiyas are known in Western India, but as far as I know, they did not spread beyond the nearest points to the Arabian Peninsula in India, places of active trade: Gujarat and the coast of present-day Pakistan (Sindh, which is sometimes called the "Gateway of Islam", it is believed that the spread of Islam in India began from this place).
Indian jambias are shown in Elgood's book "The Arms and Armour of Arabia". They are of the Yemeni type and have their own regional features: the blade with a pronounced central rib does not differ from the Yemeni ones, the hilt with a wide ring in the center and the spherical end of the scabbard.
And they are often made of gold-plated copper. But I have never seen Indian jambiyas like "Omani khanjar". Tim, it seems to me that the tradition of wearing and making jambiyas has not spread in India beyond Gujarat.
Today, they can be produced anywhere as a souvenir, but it still seems to me more likely that yours was produced in the north-west of India, including Pakistan (Pakistan was part of British India until 1947).

I found another.
 

Almost identical but slightly more roughly made and appears to have some wear on the blade which also looks flatter and less well made. Perhaps 65 was made by a more conscientious member of the workshop.:)

Personally I prefer 69. Remember Indians invented the kama sutra.
:)

Sorry to have missed this ...You also place this reference later on the page https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/195632974.pdf which is one of the best references around to do with Omani Khanjars by the author of the pdf ..part of his thesis into Omani Khanjars which set a benchmark for excellence on the subject ...

Omani Khanjars were copied by Indian and Pakistani makers inside and outside of Oman and finally the ministry in Oman stepped in and simply banned copies like this one which can be seen to be a clear copy...

1. A cheap shiny looking plated material possibly silver dipped over copper.
2. No chape.
3. A blade without a ridge on both faces...
4. A flat looking hilt.

This could be a toursit style and maybe from an Indian souk location in India.
The author of the PDF goes to great lengths to describe fakes thus I simply refer to that fine detail to finish on the subject... and request to use the reference on Omani Khanjars ...on Forum; to place the details at https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/195632974.pdf

Regards, Peter Hudson.

While we're on the subject, is mine, very old and worn, from Yemen or elsewhere?

Photo

There is a strong Saudi accent here.
I will assume that jambiya is from the northwestern region of modern Yemen or the adjacent regions of Saudi Arabia.

Thank you 👍