A miniature khanjar

[Yvain]

Hi everyone !

I’ve had this miniature khanjar for quite some time, and I still can’t figure exactly what it is, any help would thus be welcome !

It does show some age, there is spots of black corrosion on the blade, the ivory is a little yellowed and shows some cracks, and the scabbard, originally covered in purple velvet, is now extremely worn, the original color being visible only under the scabbard chape, and inside the scabbard itself.

It seems (to my untrained eyes) relatively well made, the ivory hilt is nicely shaped, and the blade shows a nice, regular shape, with fullers on both side, and even one on its thick spine. It looks like it was originally highly polished (you can still see this in the fullers), but it was roughly cleaned later in its life. The fittings seems to be made of generic white metal.

It does seems like a miniature version however, as the whole thing is approximately 26cm long sheathed, the hilt being 9,3cm, and the blade roughly 14,2cm.

Any idea of what it is exactly, why was it made and when and where ? I’m thinking beginning of the XXth century as a high end souvenir (maybe in India), but I honestly have no clue.


Thanks in advance for your help !


(And as a sidenote, I bought it at a flea market from someone who didn’t even knew it was ivory, so no worry, even if its rather recent, I didn’t send money directly in the poachers pockets.)