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Source Description
Although their blades were often of inferior quality, Yemeni daggers had beautifully ornamented sheaths with elaborate silverwork, as seen here. These daggers, which symbolically highlighted male courage and strength, played an important role in certain dances by men. Daggers were positioned in belts made of colorful fabric. In addition to being silversmiths, Yemeni Jews excelled as producers of textiles and were known to weave the belts that held the daggers.The dagger is inscribed in Arabic nusfi 1267, meaning "half" and 1267 (the date); it is inscribed in Hebrew mahasit (half). The date may be associated with the reign of al Mutawakkil "Ali (AH 1267) or that of al-Mansur Ahmad (AH 1266–67).
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
80932
label
Thuma (Dagger) and Sheath
core
obj
dtoType
object
citationUrl
pageCount
7
Source metadata
id
80932
sourceUrl
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Thuma (Dagger) and Sheath
description
Although their blades were often of inferior quality, Yemeni daggers had beautifully ornamented sheaths with elaborate silverwork, as seen here. These daggers, which symbolically highlighted male courage and strength, played an important role in certain dances by men. Daggers were positioned in belts made of colorful fabric. In addition to being silversmiths, Yemeni Jews excelled as producers of textiles and were known to weave the belts that held the daggers.The dagger is inscribed in Arabic nusfi 1267, meaning "half" and 1267 (the date); it is inscribed in Hebrew mahasit (half). The date may be associated with the reign of al Mutawakkil "Ali (AH 1267) or that of al-Mansur Ahmad (AH 1266–67).
provenance
Mr. Derek Content and Mr. Benjamin Zucker [Zucker Family Trust] London and New York, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 2010, by gift.
date
1267 AH/AD 1850-1851
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Arms & Armor
daggers
sheaths (cases)
imageCount
7
pageCount
7
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
56
height
41
dimensionsRaw
Overall L: 22 1/16 x W: 16 1/8 in. (56 x 41 cm); L of blade: 11 x W of blade: 18 7/8 in. (28 x 48 cm)
Source extras
inscriptions
[Stamp] In Arabic: nusfi 1267; [Engraved] In Hebrew: Sulayman Salih
mahasit
reign
Al-Mutawakkil ‘Ali (?); Al-Mansur Ahmad (?)
med
silver with gilding and wood
creator_ids
18948
collection_ids
ARM
SAY
exhibition_ids
3181
3562
Page inventory
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photo
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photo
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photo
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type
photo
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photo
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type
photo
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no