Rare Old Koummaya - Moroccan Arabic Dagger From The Early 1900s
Item History & Price
Great estate sale find! I have a rare Islamic Old style Moroccan or North African Arabic Koummaya Dagger from the early 1900s. Has nice old style hand work in its engravings. Classic Islamic geometric designs on handle and scabbard. Blade is 8 inches long, overall is 14 inches. Has honest wear and tear to it. It has not been cleaned or altered. Very hard to find one like this. Condition is Used. Here is more about them-Koummya blades are curved and double edged with th...e portion nearer the hilt remaining relatively straight while the curvature becomes pronounced in the half towards the tip. The length of the blade which is beveled and sharpened is longer along the concave side than along the opposite convex side. Blade thickness tapers from the base of the blade, where it is thickest, to the tip. While the edge bevels may give the blade a flattened diamond or lenticular cross-section towards the tip, the cross-section is rectangular at the forte. These blades are characteristically relatively thin and utilitarian and the presence of fullers or ridges is not typical.The hilts are characteristically made of a single piece of wood, although other materials including rhinoceros horn may be encountered, as well as examples with hilts entirely encased in metal. The central area of the usually smooth grip is narrowed relative to the width just before the ferrule (the band adjacent to the root of the blade) and the opposite pommel end flares out in a manner sometimes described as being reminiscent of an arch or a peacock's tail. The pommel is usually covered by an engraved metal cap which is secured in place by resin, tacks and or the peened end of the tang. The ferrule often expands to slide over the mouth of the scabbard by a few millimeters, presumably as a rain guard.The scabbards are lined by two slabs of wood, one against each blade face, and usually held together and encased in metal decorated in the same manner as the hilt. A few centimeters from the mouth of the scabbard, in the plane of the blade, are two lugs, one on either side, to which are attached rings for suspension. The curvature of the scabbard follows that of the blade for the length of the blade and then becomes more exaggerated, making almost a ninety degree turn within a few centimeters before ending in a finial. The scabbards will usually have a metal reinforcement plate covering the distal one-third to two-fifths of the midline along the convex cutting edge.
