Has anyone ever seen a dagger like this?

cdkjacobson · 13th October 2011, 02:43 PM

I recently received an odd dagger from my aunt. She got it from her father, who got it from a friend, who got it from someone who found it in a destroyed museum in Germany during WWI. He thought it might be Egyptian (which I doubt, as I study Egyptian archaeology), but that is all the information I have on it.

The handle is horn (I think gazelle, but could be a small section of blackbuck horn) and the blade is metal (don't know what kind, possibly an iron alloy). This overall condition of the dagger makes me think it can't be more than a couple hundred years old, if that. It's also not particularly well made - the guard is loose and the connection of hilt with blade is cheaply done - so it could be an imitation of something older.

I'm thinking it might be Indian, or an imitation of an Indian dagger. The hilt is reminiscent of a fakir's horn and the curve of the blade reminds me of a bichwa. I can't find any parallels for this exact type of blade; the closest thing I have been able to find was in a post on this forum a year ago - the "Spanish fighting knives": http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=12657

I've attached pictures below. Does anyone have any thoughts about the provenance, date, authenticity of such a dagger? Thanks,

Courtney

Lew · 13th October 2011, 05:58 PM

Greetings and welcome!

Your dagger seems to be a mix of European with a slight Asian flare but I doubt it is more than 70-80 years old. I have seen a few of these on ebay in the past and think that these were picked up as souvenirs by persons who traveled for pleasure back in the day.

Joe082 · 13th October 2011, 08:00 PM

Actually I've seen one very similar to that today on a book's illustration.
The book is A directory of knives, daggers and bayonets by Dr. Tobias Capwell ISBN-10: 1-84681-363-8

The weapon is listed in page 165 as a 19th Century Spanish fighting dagger. The handle is gazelle horn which can be used to inflict damage in their own right.

Mauro · 14th October 2011, 08:43 PM

I have a very similar knife I was told it was from Sudan. Here I enclose another knife in my collection that is from the same typology but much more elaborated. It also has his own scabbard. The handle has a guard made with a bridge fixed with a scrue. The arm of the guard ends in a strange unusual branch that split in three pieces the centralk one being an arrow. This branch is decorated with half moon, dots and geometric lines. Half moons are found also in the lower part of the guard. The blade is curved and slightly sinuos. It is biconvex and has a series of half moon arranged simmetrically but in opposition along the central part of the blade. They are close one another to recall a fish skin. At the forte there is a series of signs that recall the ancient egyptian kopesh. All these simbols are common in sudanese knives. However the scabbard is made of leather reinforced by three plates of brass, a triangular one at the bottom, one in the middle and another one at the top. I don't know if these kind of scabbard are found in Sudanese knives. Any comment is welcome

Mauro · 14th October 2011, 11:23 PM

I forget to say that the total length is 64cm

13th October 2011, 02:43 PM	#1
cdkjacobson Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Chicago, IL, USA Posts: 2	Has anyone ever seen a dagger like this? I recently received an odd dagger from my aunt. She got it from her father, who got it from a friend, who got it from someone who found it in a destroyed museum in Germany during WWI. He thought it might be Egyptian (which I doubt, as I study Egyptian archaeology), but that is all the information I have on it. The handle is horn (I think gazelle, but could be a small section of blackbuck horn) and the blade is metal (don't know what kind, possibly an iron alloy). This overall condition of the dagger makes me think it can't be more than a couple hundred years old, if that. It's also not particularly well made - the guard is loose and the connection of hilt with blade is cheaply done - so it could be an imitation of something older. I'm thinking it might be Indian, or an imitation of an Indian dagger. The hilt is reminiscent of a fakir's horn and the curve of the blade reminds me of a bichwa. I can't find any parallels for this exact type of blade; the closest thing I have been able to find was in a post on this forum a year ago - the "Spanish fighting knives": http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=12657 I've attached pictures below. Does anyone have any thoughts about the provenance, date, authenticity of such a dagger? Thanks, Courtney Attached Images

14th October 2011, 08:43 PM	#4
Mauro Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 83	I have a very similar knife I was told it was from Sudan. Here I enclose another knife in my collection that is from the same typology but much more elaborated. It also has his own scabbard. The handle has a guard made with a bridge fixed with a scrue. The arm of the guard ends in a strange unusual branch that split in three pieces the centralk one being an arrow. This branch is decorated with half moon, dots and geometric lines. Half moons are found also in the lower part of the guard. The blade is curved and slightly sinuos. It is biconvex and has a series of half moon arranged simmetrically but in opposition along the central part of the blade. They are close one another to recall a fish skin. At the forte there is a series of signs that recall the ancient egyptian kopesh. All these simbols are common in sudanese knives. However the scabbard is made of leather reinforced by three plates of brass, a triangular one at the bottom, one in the middle and another one at the top. I don't know if these kind of scabbard are found in Sudanese knives. Any comment is welcome Attached Images

13th October 2011, 05:58 PM	#2
Lew (deceased) Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: East Coast USA Posts: 3,191	Greetings and welcome! Your dagger seems to be a mix of European with a slight Asian flare but I doubt it is more than 70-80 years old. I have seen a few of these on ebay in the past and think that these were picked up as souvenirs by persons who traveled for pleasure back in the day.

13th October 2011, 08:00 PM	#3
Joe082 Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Malta (Europe) Posts: 6	Actually I've seen one very similar to that today on a book's illustration. The book is A directory of knives, daggers and bayonets by Dr. Tobias Capwell ISBN-10: 1-84681-363-8 The weapon is listed in page 165 as a 19th Century Spanish fighting dagger. The handle is gazelle horn which can be used to inflict damage in their own right.

14th October 2011, 11:23 PM	#5
Mauro Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 83	I forget to say that the total length is 64cm