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Post by jiwei90 on Jan 11, 2021 12:28:22 GMT
Hi all I purchased this dagger at a flea market a few years ago but I have had a really hard time pinpointing where it comes from. The seller told me he thinks it's a Chinese dagger, but I've never seen a Chinese dagger with a design like this, and I've never seen any bladed weapon with such a bizarrely designed copper pommel and handle. The blade looks genuinely old, and I wonder if any of you have any idea where this might have come from. I would be so grateful if you could share your knowledge as you are experts in this field with far more experience than I do.
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Post by Murffy on Jan 11, 2021 16:01:31 GMT
It resembles an Arab jambiya "dagger," although the figurative inlay suggests maybe Indian origin. A quick google shows Indian knives of similar shape - koftgari.
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Post by randomnobody on Jan 11, 2021 17:40:07 GMT
Koftgari is a method of metal inlay, usually gold or silver, not a style of weapon.
To me this looks Chinese, and probably not based on anything historical. I have, somewhere, a knife with similar shape but without the disc guard, that is a very modern "made in China" decorative piece. It was a gift, so I can't complain.
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Post by Murffy on Jan 11, 2021 20:42:12 GMT
Koftgari is a method of metal inlay, usually gold or silver, not a style of weapon. ... Woops, thanks for the correction.
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Post by Timo Nieminen on Jan 11, 2021 22:03:47 GMT
The seller told me he thinks it's a Chinese dagger, but I've never seen a Chinese dagger with a design like this, and I've never seen any bladed weapon with such a bizarrely designed copper pommel and handle. It's a modern Chinese fantasy thing. To me this looks Chinese, and probably not based on anything historical. I have, somewhere, a knife with similar shape but without the disc guard, that is a very modern "made in China" decorative piece. It was a gift, so I can't complain. These are usually sold as "Mongolian daggers". I've seen some listed for auction claimed to be 19th century, but I've never seen a known-to-be-old one. Sometimes, they're advertised as Tibetan, and perhaps there are old Tibetan ritual knives like them, and given the Mongolian adoption of Tibetan-style Buddhism, perhaps there is Mongolian history of such things as religious ritual knives. But, as said, I've never seen an old one. The shape of the pommel and grip are based on Chinese sword pommels and grips. If you search google images for "Mongolian dagger", you'll find some similar knives.
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