This is late 19th or early 20th century Iranian court work for an officer with strong European influence, as Ariel notes above it is mounted with an heirloom blade which is not unusual.
As to the Lion and Sun crest, this appears much earlier in an Iranian context. This particular rendering of it however is very similar to that depicted on period coins, an additional argument in favor of an early 20th century attribution date.
Ham
Last edited by ham; 19th November 2005 at 05:06 PM.
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