Algerian dagger?

[aspalathos]

Please I need some i fo about this dagger. Is this souvenir? How old can it be?

[Araña_del_Sol]

I cannot say whether or not your knife is a tourist/souvenir item but it does have similar motifs and stylistic elements as the flyssa of the Kabyle people in
Algeria. In a previous thread on this forum a similar knife was referred to as a "wedding nimcha" or "wedding flyssa" (second reference link below) which might suggest a ceremonial/status function for such knives.

- ADS

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ghlight=flyssa
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ghlight=flyssa

[Pertinax]

In the example of this dagger we see the process of transformation of fleece and nimchi.

Camille Lacoste wrote in her work «Sabres Kabyles»:
…The monopoly of the Iflisen no longer exists. But a new clientele has arrived: the "travelers" of yesteryear, today's tourists, who have shown great love for such an original weapon. To satisfy this new clientele, it was necessary to get closer to the tourist routes. The production methods have changed: from the artisanal plan, they have moved to the "manufacturing" stage, often even working "wholesale", on behalf of dealers from Algeria.
Finally, the weapon itself has adapted to its new use. The amateur is little concerned with the functional properties of the weapon. He likes above all the "local color", the "decorativeness".
For about a century, the art of flissa has been in decline:
— The shape has gradually changed; the blades have become shorter, curved in the opposite direction (through the acquisition of new techniques...

…These are all the small knives and daggers made since around 1850 by the Beni-Fraoucen, and especially the Beni-Yenni, or, it seems, in Bou-Saada today.
In a different social context, the flissa no longer serves its purpose. Its owners have changed, its functional characteristics have disappeared; only certain morphological and decorative similarities remain.
The art of flissa has lost all rigor. These new objects are no longer the preserve of specialized artisans…

[Ian]

Pertinax, you have written a bleak requiem for the flyssa form. It seems that few flyssa we see on the market and in auctions today are of the traditional style and manufacture. The "wedding nimcha"/curved flyssa knives seem very common, while the older forms are getting harder to find and more expensive than ever. Caveat emptor.

[Pertinax]

Originally Posted by Ian

Pertinax, you have written a bleak requiem for the flyssa form. It seems that few flyssa we see on the market and in auctions today are of the traditional style and manufacture. The "wedding nimcha"/curved flyssa knives seem very common, while the older forms are getting harder to find and more expensive than ever. Caveat emptor.

This requiem was not written by me, but by Camille Lacoste.
My opinion is that only a small number of genuine Kabyle fleeces have reached us. Everything else was made "based on" after 1850 and it is very difficult to determine "who is who".