jhshannon
Oud Admirer
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Vintage Syrian Oud
Hi,
I have a vintage Syrian oud for sale:
1914 Salim Jabali. This is an extraordinary oud, the only of its kind I have ever seen. Jabali had his workshop next to Nahhat in Zuqaq al-Ward in the
Souq Sarouja neighborhood of Damascus (there is still an old guy there who repairs ouds!). It is in near mint condition with only some small work done
on the marquetry on the neck near the pegboard (cosmetic, not structural), and a small hairline fracture on the soundboard (not major, easily
repaired). The bone rosettes and mother of pearl are amazing (they probably used the same guy to make the rosettes, since they are identical to those
found on many Nahhat ouds).
You won't find too many ouds like this from any maker, let alone one in this condition (it still had gut strings on it when I acquired it in 1996).
Aside from the strings and some pegs, it is 100% original so far as I can tell, but I do not know its full history. Who would? But at 98 years old, it
has a lot of stories to tell...
Reserve price is $3200. No case included. No trades. No bargaining, please, with all due respect to that honorable tradition. I can email pix.
Update: NB this oud was made in October 1914. The label has this very clearly printed in pencil (Tishreen Awal 1914).
I am raising funds for a charity to aid Syrian humanitarian relief efforts. I have now sold three ouds and have one left - saving the best for last!
These ouds are going for a good cause.
Thanks for having a look.
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Marcus
Oud Junkie
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Hi jhshannon 
can you post the ebay-links, please?
Thx,
Marcus
Playing the oud is like feeding my soul with peace
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fernandraynaud
Oud Junkie
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Original antique oud. No bargaining. "should". OK.
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jhshannon
Oud Admirer
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http://www.ebay.com/itm/280826092840?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&...
http://www.ebay.com/itm/280826097352?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&...
or search under Vintage Syrian Oud...
Thanks.
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Amos
Oud Junkie
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I noticed there are no photos of the first (and most expensive) oud on Ebay. If you are asking $3800 for an oud I would expect you to post fairly
exhaustive pictures of the instrument. And I don't mean to be overly investigative here but in the Ebay writeup you say you are selling to make room
for new ouds, and on your post here you are selling to raise money for the Syrian cause (certainly a worthy one and something I support fully). Why
the two different reasons for selling? Just curious. Thanks for any information.
Our music is like an ocean...
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jhshannon
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Thanks for your investigative note.
1) There is one photo of the Jabali oud, so I don't know what you mean by "...there are no photos of the first (and most expensive) oud on eBay." The
ad says clearly that I can send more photos to serious interested parties. And so I can. [UPDATE: I just checked the site and the photo is gone! I
have no idea why since it was there yesterday and I paid the fee for a photo. I put two on the ad. Apologies].
2) Yes I am making room for more ouds, and also just making more room, as well as supporting the charity. eBayers are not as tied to the Middle East
as most oud enthusiasts on this and other fora and might not accept a charitable cause for selling. This accounts for the difference. I am selling 4
ouds, two of them vintage, two modern. I am awaiting another nice modern oud. So there it is.
There is nothing fishy about any of this. I am absolutely transparent and don't like to play games with anyone.
Thanks again.
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Amos
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Thank you for adding the photo, it seems to have reappeared after I wrote my message.
No suggestions of 'fishiness' were being made, just had some questions and wanted to see the oud. Thanks.
Our music is like an ocean...
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jhshannon
Oud Admirer
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Registered: 2-21-2012
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No prob. I can send you more pix via email if you wish. Let me know.
Thanks.
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Alfaraby
Oud Junkie
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Location: Holy Land
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Excuse me, but who is Jabaly ?
I've been dealing with vintage Syrian ouds for quite a while & never heard of the man !
This does not mean he didn't exist or he was not a great luthier, but even my reliable contacts in Damascus have never heard of this name !
The question though is whether the sound of this oud could prove the contacts to be total ignorant.
With no sound file, no one could judge
Good luck
Yours indeed
Alfarby
alfarabymusic@gmail.com
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jhshannon
Oud Admirer
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Dear Mr Alfarby (al-Farabi?).
Having lived in Damascus for some years, I also did not find too many people who had heard of the luthier Salim Jabali. However, the older man who
owned this claimed to have known of the workshop, which was located on Zuqaq al-Ward in Souq Sarouja. If you know anything about Syrian ouds, or if
your contacts do, then you and they will recognize that as the address on the label of many of the older Nahhat ouds, including my 1924 Nahhat. The
street still exists today, and while there is (or was as recently as 2010) an old guy who repaired ouds there, the rest of the shops are now home to
tailors or transformed into budget hotels.
Your contacts may not be gentlemen in their 80s, nor expert in older Syrian ouds other than the usual suspects (Nahhat, Abras, Haik, Khawwam - though
considering that Michel Khawwam only made about 70 ouds, you won't find too many of them either, and you won't find too many people who know of them).
You can question the potential sound quality, and I can post a sound file for a serious collector), but I doubt that the label, which I just re-read 4
minutes ago, was either a fabrication or refers to an ghost luthier. It quite clearly says "Workshop of Salim Jabali, Souq Sarouja. Fine Instruments
at a Reasonable Price [my loose translation of the Arabic]. October, 1914."
So you might ask your contacts to ask other contacts who might have a better idea of who this person was. If you come up with useful information I'd
be happy to have it.
Thanks for your interest.
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conroystoptime
Oud Maniac
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I visited Jonathan, the seller, and wanted to let everybody know that indeed, these are two beautiful, distinctive ouds that will appeal to many
interested buyers. Jonathan was indeed transparent about the history and idiosyncracies of each instrument, and a gracious host as well.
The Haik, as advertised, has a rich, complex, smoky tone that will bring to mind an earlier era of oud playing. It is also of a slightly smaller scale
(the neck is quite slender) than most ouds, which I loved. The instrument needs repair work, but the price has been reduced accordingly.
The Jabali is a very different instrument. Though older, it has a very contemporary sound - punchier than the Haik, with a lot of mid-range. The
ornamentation on it is gorgeous, particularly the bone rosettes.
I'm shopping for more of a daily player, and decided against the Haik (the Jabali was out of my price range), but I will long remember playing it.
Both of these instruments will make the eventual buyers very happy.
Good luck to all...
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Alfaraby
Oud Junkie
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No I don't !
Forgive me for asking
Yours indeed
Alfaraby
alfarabymusic@gmail.com
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jhshannon
Oud Admirer
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Friends,
The Haik oud has found a new home. The Jabali awaits one. My other instruments also sold to some young players, so it's good to see them out the door
and enjoying a new life. So far I've raised a few hundred dollars for the charities, and I hope to raise more.
Thanks for the interest.
By the way for those who don't know, when someone says or writes "if you know anything about" it is meant rhetorically, and not literally. But as we
say, ma'lish.
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FastForward
Oud Junkie
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The key issue here is this: You are selling a "vintage" Syrian Oud by a maker that no body knows or has heard about (I'm not questioning the
authenticity of the Oud or its value). There are no good quality photos of the Oud! There are no photos of the label, and more importantly there is no
sound file! In the absence of these it is really hard to make any judgement on the Oud.
Sure you can make them available for serious buyers but don't you think it would have saved you a whole lot of time if you had posted them in the
first place (unlike ebay, posting pics here is free). More importantly, since the maker is sort of unknown, posting such information would be of great
relevance to the Oud community from a historical and archival point of view.
Good luck.
Ibrahim...
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Brian Prunka
Oud Junkie
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Since he's only selling locally, I don't think it's a big deal that he hasn't posted a bunch of photos and sound files.
Anyone interested will just go and check it out in person.
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Alfaraby
Oud Junkie
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Quote: Originally posted by jhshannon  | | So you might ask your contacts to ask other contacts who might have a better idea of who this person was. If you come up with useful information I'd
be happy to have it. |
I did !
My "contacts" contacted other older people asking about Jabali. None has ever heard of the man before, except one who said he had heard the name
before, but had never seen one of his ouds !
That's all what came up for now.
Good luck !
Yours indeed
Alfaraby
alfarabymusic@gmail.com
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jhshannon
Oud Admirer
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Thanks for the info. Seems to be a rare maker. If I can get a better shot I'll send a photo of the label, but the rosette is too dense and my iPhone
just doesn't do the trick.
Regards,
Update: here is the best shot of the label I can get.
May be of interest to those seeking more information on what seems to be a rare or little known maker from Damascus.
The text in Arabic says (a loose translation):
Salim Jabali
Workshop for making ouds of high mastery and low pricing
1914 Sham [Damascus] October [tishreen awal]
Souq Sarouja near the "directory of tobacco" (idaarat al-razy in Ottoman times was the old term for the idaarat al-riijy, explained here in Arabic
from a text on the history of Damascus under 'Abd al-Hamid II, 1876-1908 as:
ادارة الرزي : ادارة
الريجي : حصر التبغ
والتنباك التي تولت مهمة
تحديد زراعة وشراء وبيع
التبغ السوري .
There are some markings under "October"[tishreen awal] that look like 18 but it's not clear what it is, might be the day (18th).
Thanks.
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