Nimcha Saif
Arab - Berber
Regency of Algiers - French Algeria (Algeria)
19th century (ca. 1822 - 1860)
Steel, bovine horn, iron, silver, coral, nacre, brass
Blade: 74,9cm
Hilt & Blade: 91,4cm
Hilt, Blade, Sheath: -cm
Collection Date: 2025
Collection Number: 472

Ex. Sud.Arsenal (Christian Laborde): Pradinas, France (2025)

An old nimcha saif originating from Algeria. The blade is European manufacture, reminiscent of the French model 1822 light calvary blade. The squared ricasso of the 1822 pattern makes this blade manufacture pre-1860.

Single- edged curved steel blade with a thick spine. Squared ricasso at its base. A broad hollow central fuller spans approximately 3/4 of the blade's length. A deep fuller above is present for the central portion of the blade. A false edge is near the point.

Iron crossguard with three upturned quillons having bulbed finials, the knucklebow turned downward to the hilt. Silver ferrule collar decorated in flower and vegetative scrollwork. Bovine horn hilt extensively inlaid in a series of red coral and nacre encompassed by brass filigree rings, patterned in a flower design. The pommel having a silver plate. An attractive old old North African nimcha with a French blade attached. The decoration style suggests an Algerian origin.

[1] Claude, Eric. 2020. “The Small Catalog of Moroccan and Algerian Edged Weapons”. Pages 138 – 139