Decorative knife I think my father picked it up in Tunisia

Hello!
I am in love with this knife and we have it sitting on a lovely old chest of drawers.
I am sure my father picked it up in Tunisia many years ago but would love any information on it you have to offer. How old do you think it is? Is it valuable in any way, i.e should I be taking good care of it? Do you think it was always meant to be an ornamental or would it have been used at any point?
Thank you so much for your time and knowledge.

 

I think it might be a tourist trinket,but a better made one. It could be 50 years old,or 15. Theyve been making stuff the same way forever. But wait for others to chime in,Im often wrong.

 

I just thought i'd add a couple more pictures for an idea of size and material! Thank you Johnny for your input

 

Very pretty colors! Looks like enamel.

 

It is a koummya, a decorative Moroccan Berber dagger. It was traditionally worn by all Berber men. As Johnny said, yours is a better style tourist koummya, the enamel is typical Moroccan Berber, although Algeria is known for excellent enamelling.
Here is some info: http://www.vikingsword.com/ethsword/koummya/

 

A koummya! Thank you so much for the link and probable place of origin. I find it so magical items form all over the place can end up in your living room.

 

Isn't it? We're blessed.
This is one of mine to show how they where worn, the strap goes over the left shoulder.

 

It is, and they also make gorgeous jewellery, silver, coral and enamel. The necklace is from Morocco, the earrings from Algeria, I also have a bracelet, but that is in another box.

 

Ottoman / Turkish ...these come in a wide variety .
Aspire auction marks this one as sold for $230.



Ebay wants $2500 for this older example ......but I'd want papers with that !



Here's a nice old one.....says Morocco .



Another Moroccan attributed version ...




This one is called Turkish....
You can see the blade is fashioned similar to yours.

Yours is really nice , & while I'm sure the blade will kill, I doubt it ever has.
The craftsmanship & style of yours is lovely....& I'm thinking ceremonial ....but if it is a tourist item...it's at the very highest end.


Below is a classic.....documented.....



http://www.dreweatts.com/cms/pages/lot/19204/69

 

very nice.......

 

Well, the Turkish invaded Morocco a couple of times, they could have taken Moroccan koummya with them, but the koummya is still very much a Berber dagger.
I find that when sellers don't know what a non-Western dagger is, they tend to call it either Turkish or Persian. Poor Berbers, their culture has been under pressure for centuries, and now this.

 

Most koummyas never killed, just like most Arab jambiyas. Those daggers were part of Berber dress, even for shopkeepers, etc. without them they were not Berber men.

 

It seems as though many refer to this type as a Jambiya......& while you can clearly see a marked difference in the blade style.....the raised center line....I think that's what causes the confusion.

 

I agree with the Berber connection......but I also like Ottoman.......as it covers a large area.
I'm not expert enough to date any of them....

 

Ottoman is fine for areas that were once part of the Ottoman empire. But Morocco never was. Not for want of trying by the Turks. I think it was all those koummyas that stopped them. North Africans also loved to use their rifles.....

 

Wow this is all so interesting!!! Thank you so much for the conversation and images I'm definitely going to have a little research into it all you've sparked my curiosity about these.
What a lovely forum.

 

Pleasure! Komo and I tend to ramble on, but we've never had any complaints. And Komo is a wonderful sparring partner when my brain gets stuck.
About Berber culture, you could spend a lifetime just studying that, and still find there is much more.
But there are so many people on this forum with great knowledge in different fields, you will get to know more with each post. And it is a community, we also laugh and cry with each other, share pictures of pets, etc.
Most importantly

 

And once again, I have to chime in with an "AMEN, SISTER!"

I KNOW it gets tiresome - but so does thinking up new ways of expressing myself regarding this amazing group of people..................

 

you've never had any complaints....I've been called names...rude...and a host of other things.............

 

Well, then, maybe this will help.