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Nahat ouds were made by a family of several generations in
Damascus, Syria. Many oudists consider them the finest Arabic ouds ever made.
The tone they produce is unique, sonorous, deep and clear. The decorative detail and workmanship are unsurpassed
to this day. my most sincere appreciation goes to Spyros Camatero for organising
the information from
handwritten and printed labels as well as from the names carved in the "shamIs" (big rose)
in the face of the oud. Additional
information has been received from descendants of the family living in Brazil,
Saudia Arabia, Switzerland and Canada
who are sharing their memories of the family.
Judging by their first names (George, Anton, Elias, etc.), the Nahats
were Christian Arabs, and judging by their last name and they must have
had a very long tradition in woodworking (Nahat in Arabic means carver,
woodworker, sculptor, etc). In the Arabic culture, the first son usually took his
paternal grandfather's first name and all the sons had their father's first name
as their middle name. This makes it possible to trace the family's
lineage.
The oldest known maker was George Abdo Nahat, and he flourished in
the early 19th century (1800's). He had five sons, four who followed him in the
oud business: Abdo (born in 1983), Roufan, Antun, and Hanna. Abdo George
was considered to be the best of all, and many think of him as the "Stadivarius" of oud
makers.
The elder George must have also had a brother Elias, whose
son Abdo Elias was born in 1863. His son Elias Abdo was born some time in the
early 1900s since there is a shamsiya on a 1927 oud with the inscription "Abdo Nahat and his son
Elias". Today there is an Abdo Elias Nahat living in Brazil, but he is not associated
with oud making.
Hanna Nahat we believe was born in the 1870s, and had at least two sons, Toufiq Hana (born in the early 1900s)
and George Hana (born in the late 1890s).
George Hana produced ouds in the middle of the 20th century
until about 1959, but it appears he died in Syria without any descendants. Toufiq's name and picture appears in several ouds up to the 1930s
as well as some repair labels up to 1947. Abdo George's son George Abdo was born in
1907 (according to his grandson Guillerme in Brazil). He lived in Syria until
1928 when he migrated to Brazil.
According to the label serial numbers, Oud production was about 4 per month
in the early 1800's through the 1920's. Between 1927 and 1930 this number
doubled. The last oud was made in 1983 in Brazil, made by George Abdo or certainly under his
direction. Several ouds made beginning in the 1920's contain a printed
label titled "Carpentry Shop", advertising "Furniture and Musical
instruments" of "Abdo George Nahat and Sons", with the picture of Abdo
George. The increase in productivity of the shop in the late 1920s may
indicate that more people were involved.
There were actually two shops producing ouds, one headed by Abdo
George, with Roufan. and the other including Antun and probably Hanna. There is
one label with Abdo and Roufan pictured and the shamis inscription Ikwan Nahat,
translated as "Nahat Brothers". Most other ouds had the individual maker's
label, and some included additional labels at a later date indicating some
repair work.
There is no Nahat producing ouds today so far as we know. Descendants of
the family are living in Brazil, Switzerland, Saudia Arabia, Canada and the US.
Additional information is hoped
to be gained from those descendants, more oud owners as well as other sources.
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