S'boula (Jiboula)
Berber - Arab
Kingdom of Morocco - Beylik of Tunis, Ottoman Empire (Tunisia)
Mid- 19th century (ca. 1830 - 1870)
Steel, brass, horn, leather
Blade: 32,1cm
Hilt & Blade: 42,9cm
Hilt, Blade, Sheath: 45,4cm
Collection Date: 2021
Collection Number: 236

Ex. Harry Wagner Collection: Columbus, Ohio, USA (2021)

A very fine North African sword of Maghreb origin known as a s'boula or jiboula. They are presumably Morrocan in construction and decoration, but many examples have been associated with Tunis, specifically purchased during the Great Exhibition of 1851, and now reside in the Royal Armouries.

The straight, single- edged steel blade is narrow, with a broad hollow central fuller tapering into a sharp needle point tip. Bovine "I" shaped hilt covered in finely embossed brass sheet decorated in traditional North African motifs and geometric ornament on the front side, and stippled decoration on the reverse. The central grip is bound in brass wire and adorned with 12 red corals. There is untranslated ornate Arabic script on the pommel base.

The sheath of brass is highly decorated, matching the hilt in the same manner with red enamel accents within the lines. Attached are two brass baldric suspension rings. There is a leather section that separates the throat and chape mounts. Arabic script on the rear of the sheath untranslated, but it looks to be a replicate script of that on the reverse side of the sheath.

A very fine and complete example of type. S'boula swords are usually not this elaborate, assuming that this was made for someone of a high social status. It is one of the nicest examples seen. The Royal Armouries have two very similar in their collection, purchased from Tunis during the Great Exhibition of 1851. This example likely produced around the same time period and locality.

Photograph 10 shows a comparison to an example in Eric Claude’s, “The Small Catalog of Moroccan and Algerian Edged Weapons.”
Photograph 11 shows a Moroccan man wearing a similar s’boula sword.

[1] Richardson, Thom. 2018. “Islamic Arms and Armour”. Page 70.

[2] Claude, Eric. 2020. “The Small Catalog of Moroccan and Algerian Edged Weapons”. Page 99.

[3] https://collections.royalarmouries.org/object/rac-object-52019.html

[4] https://collections.royalarmouries.org/object/rac-object-1654.html

[5] http://www.oriental-arms.co.il/photos.php?id=2115

[6] http://www.oriental-arms.co.il/item.php?id=7180

[7] https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/sboula-ou-genoui-sabre-court-ea44535b4b