Asian dagger for comment
 

posted over on another forum while this one was down: (linky to other forum thread)

consensus there, inc. steve f. & bill m. was that it was likely russian/tibetan/chinese/bhutanese due to the hairpin laminations but hilt was not typical of tibet/bhutan/china and had kindjal-like features, i'm reposting here to see if we can get some more info from the other experts...

I have photos of one very much like it, but as the item does not belong to me, I will not post it here. I'm guessing this comes from the northeast of Tibet. Likely Chinese and/or Mongolian influence. Some resemblance to trousse knives, and some resemblance to some eastern Tibetan swords with iron butt caps (one of my Chinese-influenced Tibetan swords has a similar diamond-shaped "washer" helping secure the peened tang over the pommel cap). I'll let you know if I find any historic photos showing such knives. I don't think it's Bhutanese; although it has a waisted hilt, it is substantially different in form to those of Bhutanese swords and daggers.

Tibetan
 

Always nice to see these daggers with iron mounts. In my minds eye these are definately Tibetan related. Keep in mind Tibet used to be a much lager country- http://www.tibetmap.org/pw4br.html

In the maps you can see that Tibet was at one time larger than China, had part of Northern India, Bhutan and Nepal. Would imagine their area of influence would be approximately what the early border lines were.

Sometimes its difficult to say if something originated from one country because there can be such a blending of cultural influence. But until more is published on Bhutan, Nepal and Chinese arms and armor Tibet is my choice of labels for your dagger.

The clasp/attachment near the top of the hilt rings of Chinese or Mongolian design and taste.

rand

I have been thinking about this knife a bit. The Tibetan, Bhutanese, Chinese, combination of influences is clear. The blade is more slim than most Tibetan examples with the look of Bhutanese style which also goes with the lozenge pommel. As pointed out though, the way it was put together does not indicate Bhutan, while it does strongly suggest a piece from the border of Tibet and China. The horn handle with decorated rivets resembles pieces from outlying villages in China with perhaps a minority influence. Also as pointed out, the ring attachment resembles Mongolian/Chinese knives. I have seen a Mongolian dagger with similar pattern welding that was also slim bladed in this fashion.

My best guess is that this comes from the Tibetan plateau region of Qinghai province north of Sichuan. This is partially based on triangulating the combination of influences. However, it is based even more on what I see on the market these days. Qinghai province is only recently opening up, and it has kept its Tibetan culture with very little outside influence until recently. In the last couple of years, many unusual Tibetan pieces have been showing up on the market in styles rarely or never seen previously. Riveted horn handles are quite common on these pieces while I think they are rare on more traditional Tibetan things. I have three horn handled Tibetan sabers in my collection with very good attribution that I am absolutely sure came from Qinghai. Actually, every example that I can think of where a Tibetan saber has a horn handle turns out to be from Qinghai. I am sure there are counter examples out there, but I have not seen them. Obviously with knives, horn handles are more common from all regions, but still I think there is enough evidence to make a good guess.

If this piece has been in a collection for many years then all bets are off, but if this new to the market as I suspect, then I think it is from Qinghai.
Josh

hi josh, thanks for the added info. the more knowledge the better ;)

it came from a general antique dealer without any provenance as to where it had been living before he got it. the only info is that he thought it was chinese possibly 18th century. i'll try emailing him to see if he has any info on where he got it that he can release....

the dealer i got it from has told me he bought it in a bric-a-brac market stall, he's going back there next week & will ask them if they have any more info on where they got it. watch this space, but don't hold yer breath. ;)