Help Identifying Strange Dagger
 

This dagger was brought to me for identification, but falls well outside my scope of expertise. Any ideas on region and/or age? I initially suspected that it was an Indo-Persian dagger, perhaps commissioned by a British officer (the Wyvern on the blade looks like the Wessex wyvern), but now I'm not so certain.

Thanks!

Could you post a more detailed picture of the blade and can you tell what the grip material is ?

Robert

The blade has a shape like a khanjarli.
 

Looks like a khanjarli blade. Can't tell about the rest, may be a custom piece.

I suggested the dagger be posted here because the man on the handle looks Indonesian to me, in a Balinese or Javanese head cloth.
Josh

That's an odd one. The dragon motif would seem to suggest a Chinese influence -- perhaps Tibetan :confused:

Does not look very sturdy or functional given the small amount of steel connecting the guard to the blade. Looks decorative or cermonial.

Ian.

Although the blade form may be borrowed from India I just don't think this piece originates from there.

IMO nothing about the workmanship looks Indian .

The Wessex Wyvern connection is intriguing and might lead somewhere .

The grip material looks like serpentine and the blade looks like steel. I'm posting a close-up of the blade; let me know if any of you would like to see additional photos.

The knife itself does looks decorative. The blade shape certainly resembles Indian daggers (and a wyvern such as that carved into the blade is associated with the Wessex region of Great Britain, which had several army regiments deployed to India in the 19th and early 20th c.), but even if that explains the blade, the handle is still a mystery. If the workmanship isn't Indian, might it be from somewhere nearby? Perhaps somewhere influenced by Indian culture?

In some ways the handle resembles SE Asian carved handles I've seen here and there, but I'm certainly no expert, and I haven't been able to find anything exactly like it. I've been looking into British Army deployments in the region, but haven't found any link to Wessex yet.

Thanks for all the great input so far!