New Member Intro and a picture(I hope)

Raja Muda · 28th February 2005, 11:42 AM

I guess I'd let the others contribute their knowledge on the weapons. I'd just like to put in my two cents worth on the tray. It seems what you have here is a piece of marquetry work probably done in Spain in what I would call the Alhambra style. Sometime in recent Spanish history, there was a surge of interest in the Arab-Islamic heritage of Iberia and many craftsmen started producing handicrafts inspired by the Mezquita, the Alhambra, Moorish tiles, arabesque and the like.
The cartouche on the tray carries the motto of the Nasrid kings, 'wa la ghalib illallah' which means There is no Victor but God, though I guess the letters have been distorted somewhat. The same motto appears all over the Alhambra complex. Interesting how it got to where you found it.

knife7knut · 28th February 2005, 11:36 PM

First I would start by thanking both of you for the replies to my queries.
Yannis,as to the macro feature on modern day cameras,my newest film camera was a 35mm Canon AL-1;chosen because of it's,"3-light idiot-proof focusing system" where instead of a split-image focusing which my eyes find near-impossible to adapt to,uses a red arrow going left and right to indicate which way to turn the lens and a green dot when your object is in focus.Doesn't work well if you suffer from red-green color blindness though.And it's more than 25 years old now.
The lens is a 35-105mm Macro-Zoom which will focus down to approximately 2 1/2"(62mm)and is great for closeups but your,"depth-of-field" is nearly non-existant.My digital camera;a Sony FD Mavica will focus pretty closely but the field of view is severely limited and depth of field suffers when you're trying to keep the file size within reason.
Raja Muda;as to the tray which I purchased for less than $10 was to me a fantastic work of art in it's own right.The closer you examine it,the more detail becomes evident.Strangely enough the gentleman who owned it prior to it showing up at the yard sale is a friend of mine.He is of Iraqi descent and his (ex) wife purchased it at an antique shop about 20 years ago.He gave me a general idea of what it said but knew nothing of it's history other than to opine that it was possibly of Syrian manufacture.
Being an artist,I can appreciate the time and effort that went into it and thought it would make a delightful backdrop for the jambiya.
For those who had asked for closeups of the jambiya,I will post a couple where the cyphers are most present in the hope someone may be able to translate the ones around the handle area and the blade.
Again thank you for all your input and perhaps some day there will be questions that I am able to respond to.
Sincerely
Ray Smith aka knife7knut

Raja Muda · 3rd March 2005, 03:01 AM

Hi Ray,
If you could kindly turn the blade around, I can attempt a reading of the koftgari inscription. Can't really manage it with all that blood rushing into my head, should I decide to stand on my head.

knife7knut · 3rd March 2005, 04:42 AM

Raja Muda:
I truly apologize to you;I had no idea the pictures were inverted.I must confess I have enough of a problem interpreting English at times;I can't imagine trying with another language!
I have the utmost respect for anyone who is multi-lingual.I worked many years ago with a gentleman of Lebanese extraction who spoke eight languages fluently.I have trouble NAMING eight languages!
Here are the corrected pictures for your viewing.Any help you can offer would be greatly appreciated.
Sincerely
Ray Smith aka knife7knut

28th February 2005, 11:42 AM	#1
Raja Muda Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Posts: 100	Tray I guess I'd let the others contribute their knowledge on the weapons. I'd just like to put in my two cents worth on the tray. It seems what you have here is a piece of marquetry work probably done in Spain in what I would call the Alhambra style. Sometime in recent Spanish history, there was a surge of interest in the Arab-Islamic heritage of Iberia and many craftsmen started producing handicrafts inspired by the Mezquita, the Alhambra, Moorish tiles, arabesque and the like. The cartouche on the tray carries the motto of the Nasrid kings, 'wa la ghalib illallah' which means There is no Victor but God, though I guess the letters have been distorted somewhat. The same motto appears all over the Alhambra complex. Interesting how it got to where you found it.

28th February 2005, 11:36 PM	#2
knife7knut Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 31	Reply First I would start by thanking both of you for the replies to my queries. Yannis,as to the macro feature on modern day cameras,my newest film camera was a 35mm Canon AL-1;chosen because of it's,"3-light idiot-proof focusing system" where instead of a split-image focusing which my eyes find near-impossible to adapt to,uses a red arrow going left and right to indicate which way to turn the lens and a green dot when your object is in focus.Doesn't work well if you suffer from red-green color blindness though.And it's more than 25 years old now. The lens is a 35-105mm Macro-Zoom which will focus down to approximately 2 1/2"(62mm)and is great for closeups but your,"depth-of-field" is nearly non-existant.My digital camera;a Sony FD Mavica will focus pretty closely but the field of view is severely limited and depth of field suffers when you're trying to keep the file size within reason. Raja Muda;as to the tray which I purchased for less than $10 was to me a fantastic work of art in it's own right.The closer you examine it,the more detail becomes evident.Strangely enough the gentleman who owned it prior to it showing up at the yard sale is a friend of mine.He is of Iraqi descent and his (ex) wife purchased it at an antique shop about 20 years ago.He gave me a general idea of what it said but knew nothing of it's history other than to opine that it was possibly of Syrian manufacture. Being an artist,I can appreciate the time and effort that went into it and thought it would make a delightful backdrop for the jambiya. For those who had asked for closeups of the jambiya,I will post a couple where the cyphers are most present in the hope someone may be able to translate the ones around the handle area and the blade. Again thank you for all your input and perhaps some day there will be questions that I am able to respond to. Sincerely Ray Smith aka knife7knut Attached Images

3rd March 2005, 03:01 AM	#3
Raja Muda Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Posts: 100	Upside down Hi Ray, If you could kindly turn the blade around, I can attempt a reading of the koftgari inscription. Can't really manage it with all that blood rushing into my head, should I decide to stand on my head.

3rd March 2005, 04:42 AM	#4
knife7knut Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 31	My apologies Raja Muda: I truly apologize to you;I had no idea the pictures were inverted.I must confess I have enough of a problem interpreting English at times;I can't imagine trying with another language! I have the utmost respect for anyone who is multi-lingual.I worked many years ago with a gentleman of Lebanese extraction who spoke eight languages fluently.I have trouble NAMING eight languages! Here are the corrected pictures for your viewing.Any help you can offer would be greatly appreciated. Sincerely Ray Smith aka knife7knut Attached Images