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Dagger (Jambiya) with Scabbard

hilt and scabbard, late 19th–early 20th century; blade, 18th–19th century
Not on view
This Arab dagger was worn by Sharif Husayn ibn 'Ali, amir of Mecca (r. 908–16) and king of the Hejaz (r. 1916–24), and then by his son, Faisal, briefly king of Syria (1920) and subsequently king of Iraq (r. 1921–33). The pierced blade is a late version of an Ottoman Turkish type of the sixteenth century. The gold-damascened inscriptions include a phrase referring to the dagger: “I admire, as the [great] art of the Arabs, the gilded dagger.”

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Dagger (Jambiya) with Scabbard
  • Date: hilt and scabbard, late 19th–early 20th century; blade, 18th–19th century
  • Culture: hilt and scabbard, Arabian, Jedda; blade, Iranian or Turkish
  • Medium: Steel, ivory, wood, silver, gold, rubies, emeralds
  • Dimensions: L. 12 3/4 in. (32.4 cm); dagger: L. 12 1/16 in. (30.6 cm); L. of blade 7 1/2 in. (19 cm); W. 1 13/16 in. (4.6 cm); Wt. 8.4 oz. (238.1 g); scabbard: L. 8 1/2 (20.5 cm); Wt. of scabbard 5.6 oz. (158.8 g)
  • Classification: Daggers
  • Credit Line: Gift of Mrs. Anna L. Fisher, 1922
  • Object Number: 22.107a, b
  • Curatorial Department: Arms and Armor

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