Small Chinese knife for I D
 

Hi all, here are pics of a small knife which I acquired a few years ago from a man who said he found it underneath a house he was demolishing , in the city of Wellington, New Zealand.
From the early 1800's onwards, when New Zealand was being settled, some thousands of Chinese emigrated here, most going to the southern goldfields but also many settling in cities. It is therefore possible that this knife was brought here at that time. (Although Gavin may think that it is Spanish 1970's!!)
I was told that the knife required considerable cleaning.
Any information will be gratefully accepted.
Brian

I HAVE SOMETHING SIMULAR TO THIS IN DECORATION BUT A DIFFERENT FORM THAT I BOUGHT IN CHINGDU CHINA , WHICH IS NEAR TIBET. THE FORM OF YOURS IS QUITE A BIT DIFFERENT IN HANDLE AND BLADE SHAPE BUT THE DECORATION ON THE HANDLE SCALES IS VERY SIMULAR. PERHAPS IT IS FROM A DIFFERENT TRIBAL GROUP IN THAT REGION OF CHINA AS IT EXHIBITS QUITE A VARIATION FROM MOST CHINESE FORMS ESPECIALLY THE POMMEL. JUST GUESSING MOSTLY :shrug: PERHAPS SOMEONE MORE UP ON CHINESE ITEMS CAN BE OF MORE HELP. GOOD LUCK

Uzbequistan
 

I think is a Pichok from Uzbequistan, Typical knife of this country.
Best regards
carlos

Uzbeki Pichok with Chinese hieroglyphs?

Brian, thats a nice piece. I see Chinese characters on the blade. Maybe you have a friendly Chinese takeaway or restaurant in Waihi, where you can get it translated??
NOT kidding--its worth a try!!
Stu

I'd say you have hit the nail on the head there Carlos.

Gav

This is not a weapon but look at the motifs. Not just the small general floral form but also construction. So in how many of the "Stan" states would one see this work? What is the script on the blade? No idea on the age of either the knife or the flute but both look well used.

this one is made in east turkmenistan, normaly there arabic script is used but also there is a sizeable amount of chinese molsems who adopt the centralasian costume and customs to a degree so they carry the ughir knife as well
there are made in "factories" with make hand workers,, and have been made like this for several 100 years

current producer
http://y.yaltapan.com/en/Mahsulat/Index.asp

Thanks
 

Hi guys, many thanks for the helpful comments. Isn't it amazing how this little knife has travelled all the way to New Zealand and is now in my hands!!
Brian