small knife/dagger from India

[Montino Bourbon]

I've been coming to this forum for years, and it's such a gold mine of wonderful information. Thank you all for participating.

Does anybody know anything about the style of this particular knife/ dagger? I liked it because it has the shape of a functional knife, not just a people–stabbing implement. if there's anybody here that can pin down provenance, I would greatly appreciate it.

[Jens Nordlunde]

I would start to research daggers from the northern part, and while you are at it, try to make a search here on the forum for 'eared daggers', you may find something.

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by Montino Bourbon

I've been coming to this forum for years, and it's such a gold mine of wonderful information. Thank you all for participating.

Does anybody know anything about the style of this particular knife/ dagger? I liked it because it has the shape of a functional knife, not just a people–stabbing implement. if there's anybody here that can pin down provenance, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks very much Montino for the kind words on our forum (which we're all quite proud of) and likewise, I know I have very much appreciated your valuable contributions here.

As Jens has well noted, this particular style of hilt may be found in the northern parts of India, and I know I have seen these bifurcated pommels (in effect recalling the shashka) in Central Asian daggers as well. The blade of course closely follows the Persian kard, as well noted by Vandoo, and is similar to profiles found in Bukhara (Flindt, 1979, p.23, fig. 25c).
The same bifurcated pommel in strikingly similar section is seen on a 'zirah bhonk' dagger from N.India c.1725 (Pant CCX, CCXI) and the 'peaked' profile on your example is seen on 'revival' type shamshirs of 18th century Mughal use (Pant, p.132, fig. 374.

With these comparisons, I would say your dagger is of 18th century style, of kard form, and probably Mughal very likely produced in Rajasthan. It does seem to have some age, so a 19th c. presumption seems plausible.

In my opinion, a subtle nuance like the finger nock carved toward the pommel is something I would presume absent in modern reproductions, which as we know remains a thriving industry throughout Rajasthan.
Well played with the merchant who was clearly 'throwing out the hook', and saw you were no novice. Knowledge is the collectors most valuable weapon, and thats why we all work together to learn as much as we can....much to the dismay of many dealers and merchants who prey on the unwary.

All the best,
Jim

[Montino Bourbon]

so I wouldn't be surprised if it came from around there. The person that I bought it from seemed to think that it came from a small kingdom to the North of Jaipur, Bikaner. The blade is not thick, the spine being no more than 2 mm thick, so I don't think of it so much as a “combat” weapon as much as a “knife”.

oh, and as I mentioned, I had my iPad with me with photographs of “real” and “modern” antiques, and examples of wootz and the modern mechanical Damascus produced in Rajasthan these days. Some of that, by the way, is quite nice. Just not antique.

[Jim McDougall]