Code: AN41
This is a Moroccan Berber Shula knife. From the collection of Lew Waldman's Ethnographic Arms & Armour Collection. The word "Shula" also refers to the Berbers who life in the northern part of Morocco. (Berbers living in the hill country of Tunisia and Algeria are "Kabyls" (Kabyle) who are famous for the flyssa knife.)
The blade is 13¼ inch (35 cm) long, curved with a single single edge and an acute point. There is a long unsharpened false edge on the back of the blade. The knife bears the typical style of blade decoration of this North African type and is up to 0.18 inch (0.45 cm) thick along the spine. On both sides of the blade, a wide central fuller extends from hilt to ¾ of the length of the blade and contains decorative unidentified engraving. A narrower fuller is found along the back of the blade. The main side of the blade has a complex grind while the back side of the edge is flat. The tip of the blade is upswept to a very acute trailing point.
The hilt is formed by two horn scales riveted together with four rivets and with the display face decorated with geometric designs in black and brass wire inserts. The opposite side of the hilt is of darker horn and undecorated. There is an area of loss to insect damage in the center of the back side of the hilt and also to the display face but hidden by the designs. There is also some loss of the twisted brass wire inlays. The blade shows much old corrosive staining with only mild pitting.
Overall length is 19½ inches (49.7 cm) with a weight of just under 8 ounces (226 grams).
