Janbiya Showcase 

Stephen Gracie

Stephen Gracie, who lives in Australia, has been a member of the Society for several years. He has assembled an extensive collection of Yemeni ‘janbiya’ daggers and has sent us photographs of just a small portion of his collection which we reproduce here. In a letter to the Hon. Secretary he wrote: 

This collection is now probably one of the largest outside Yemen. . . and I am currently working with several contacts in Sana’a, knowledgeable in this field, to provide a history of the daggers and some form of classification based on design, time period, geographical location, family status etc. The final goal will be to publish this information in book format and to put the collection on public display, probably back in Yemen. 

I am always looking to buy good quality janbiyas and would be glad to hear from members of the Society who may be interested in selling their daggers into my collection. My email address is: sjgracie@optusnet.com.au