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#1 |
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I while ago Jens posted a few pictures of a nice Pesh Kabz. I encountered a similar dagger, and surprisingly the memory came back:-) These are quite rare, I think, and a few similar ones were on Sotheby's in 2006. Jens's one has very nice curve though and gold work. Here is the link (it's in the middle of the thread):
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...highlight=pesh And here are pictures of another one. It's 15'' long, walrus handle, wootz, etc. The scabbard is original, I think, fits the blade well, but the fittings look Afghani to me. Any other opinions/comments? |
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#2 |
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Could be, although the dagger itself is Northern India, Mughal.
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#3 |
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Alex,
Its a very nice pesh you have found, please give us a sharp close up of the inlay close to tha hilt. You have a scabbard - while I don't ![]() Jens |
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#4 |
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Jens,
Apart from scabbard, I think yours is better ![]() Here are the closeups, hope they're good. Any similarities to yours??? THANKS! |
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#5 |
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Alex,
I have compared the two images from your and mine (in a special programe), of the decoration, and I find them rather alike, mine have birds and yours does not, but what surprises me a lot is the gold ‘cartouche’, which on both dagger seem to be rather blurred, and if I guess right, there will be a faint writing in yours, as it is in mine. Thank you for the pictures. Jens |
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#6 |
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Jens, no writing on mine.
As I mentioned earlier, yours is better:-) Thanks for checking. |
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#7 |
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Isn't the 'calyx' at the back of the blade indicative of Central Asian edged weapons such as Uzbek, Turkmen and Afghan? It seems it appears on Khyber knives and I've seen it on Turkmen shamshirs.
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#8 |
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Jim, what do you mean by 'calyx'. Good point by the way; I thought of Central Asian origin, because of scabbard, but all reference to this particular form of Pesh (excluding scabbard) point to India.
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#9 |
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Hi Alex,
A very nice Pesh Kabz you have there ![]() I would also suggest Afghani origin for the fittings on your piece. I have quite different dagger, but the lower silver fitting on its scabbard seems to be similar to yours. My dagger is a strange combination: a Wootz khanjar blade, a Choora handle of well patinated ivory, and a set of scabbard fittings that are quite different in style to each other. The lower one is silver and upper one is made from German silver and has three nude (?) female (?) figures on it from one side. The scabbard is old and original to the dagger, as well as the handle, and all together it says "Afghani" to me. It seems that its creator have taken simply the spare parts that were available to him ![]() |
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#10 |
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Very interesting dagger and especially wootz pattern, Tatyana.
It is possible to replace the tip of the scabbard of course, but the top would be much harder as it has to be exactly the same size and shape to fit. In my case I think the fittings were made for this particular scabbard - they fit it perfectly. It could "travel" from India to Afganistan to acquire a new dress:-) |
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#11 | |
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We have discussed it before, and the official opinionis that C. Asian weapons had 5 VERY WIDE rivets. However, all Khybers and Chooras I saw ( Afghani, of course!) had mostly 3, max. 4 rivets, and all C. Asian ones I have and saw had 5 of whatever size. I second the C. Asian origin of this one. |
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#12 |
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The knife Tatyana shows here is most unusual. Not just the blade and handle which presumably belong to each other, I see no reason to doubt a tribal variation. The basic scabbard looks made for the knife even if the chape has been commandeered from something else. What is so intriguing is the metal work on the scabbard mouth. Most unorthodox when you bare in mind the region we are talking about, thier general view of female decorum modesty and postion in public life. The display of bare breasted ladies is very bold indeed if not fool hardy. I might suggest that what Tatyana has is an extremely rare knife from a small group of animist people that live in the area associated with these weapons. Give me an hour and I will come up with some more information. If one had no other idea, the patern of females seen on the scabbard mouth alone might remind one of designs from South America. Back shortly.
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#13 |
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Lets face it knives like this although often expensive are more common than knobkerries. However I think this one is rare and has origins with the Kalash if they still exist as an independent tribe. Here is a picture from the BM with some helpful info and one can always google Kalash.
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#14 |
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Note the reference to the women wearing a horned headdress and the depiction of women on the scabbard mouth.
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#15 |
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This is incredible research Tim !!! Fascinating. I also think it is special dagger.
Ariel, which dagger were you refferring to? Mine is only 2 x 2, not all drive:-) The 4th dot is not a rivet, it is just a spot on the handle. |
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#16 |
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Alex, the term 'calyx' refers to the flueret like element on the back of the blade which appears in line with the backstrap of the hilt. As mentioned, this has consistantly appeared to me a Central Asian affectation.
As has been noted, from the mid 19th century, the demarcation between North India and Central Asia, that is Afghanistan and the Northwest Frontier regions that are now Pakistan were anything but clear. Naturally the cross diffusion of weapons was typical, and if I am not mistaken, the Afghan daggers similar to the pesh kabz were either karud or the choora, both with straight rather than recurved blade. We know that tulwars were often found in Afghan regions, and the paluoar, the distinctively recognized Afghan sabre likely had its origins in the Deccan. Tim, incredibly astute association there!!! ![]() All best regards, Jim |
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#17 |
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Tim, thank you for very interesting information.
I thought that the dagger was from some Afghani tribe with the Persian influence, but the female image was always looking strange to me ![]() Alex, forgive me for using your thread ![]() |
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#18 |
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Tatyana,
Its a nice dagger you have – I don’t know what to call it, so I won’t try to invent a name. Lovely blade, very nice hilt, but the scabbard is the most curious thing, notice that the women are on the inside of the scabbard mount, so that no one would see them. Jens |
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#19 |
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Tatyana, no need to apologise. It's all related. Besides, we learned something new.
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#20 | |
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All the best, Jim |
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#21 |
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All depends on how you carry your knife, left or right handed. One might wear it one way in a given situation and differently in another. One thing for sure it is unorthodox in the extreme.
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