Unusual Bulgarian Knife

[DOMENICO]

Originally Posted by eftihis

Hallo, here is a silver example, but i cannot tell if it comes from a specific country.
What is very interesting is the ending of the handle where we can see a lion holding an open book, an image that reminds me very much Venice.
Propably then, it comes from an area of the Balkans that was once under venetian domination or influence, and this design just continued to be made because of habit even in the 19th century under Ottoman domination.

Good day, I have found a similar knife in a farm in France many years ago, but this has a brass handle. The decoration are pretty similar though.
See pictures attached. Brgds. Andrea