Does anyone recognize this knife ?
 

I found this piece on a fleamarket. Don't know anything about it. :rolleyes: :confused: :shrug:

Length : 24 cm.

Funky... were there any other items along with it - artwork, textiles, etc. - that might have suggested a region of origin? The bands inside of the ferrule and pommel cap look metallic - like tarnished silver. Are they metal, and if so, have you tested them to see if they're made of a ferrous metal?

No, nothing else came with it. The seller could only tell me that it had been in his family for quite some time. He had no clue where it came from.

I used a magnet on the bands and they are definitively not iron. The blade is, though.

No one else has an idea ? :o

A long shot perhaps.
 

I do not know if this helps or hinders? The three projections on the hilt could be what one can find on Afghan-Beluch rugs and carpets more specifically Taimani, NW Afghanistan. It is known in the carpet world as "three mirhab" prayer niches in the mosque. The Taimani are semi nomadic. Here are two examples one a prayer rug from "The Carpets of Afghanistan, R.D Parsons, first published 1983" and a bag that I have which I post just to illustrate that this design has a tradition. The knife does look rather Afghan like?