Cars Are Culture Free
Hi Ian,
One can perhaps say that, for a brief time (1950-1965), American cars (the famous Yank Tanks) were characterized by a large size and flamboyance which set them apart from other cars worldwide. It could be argued that these cars were the final (and most extreme) example of American Streamline but, that being said, it should be noted that American Streamline was just an American manifestation of the Art Deco and there was really nothing particularly or distinctly "American" about it. With the advent of international mass market auto sales, any and all cultural design queues vanished. Today, an SUV is an SUV is an SUV. Regardless of where they are designed or made, automotive vehicles are styled to appeal to a global market and their technical specs (emission standards, safety, etc) are modified as needed to be legal for all countries. Given the above, I don't think provenance matters at all.
This isn't the case with the three knives in question. Here we are trying to establish provenance based on stylistic queues that are culturally distinct and are present because of their appeal to a niche market. I agree wholly with your point about stylistic diffusion in the Mediterranean. Which is precisely why I contend that, in the absence of any absolute proof, it can't be concluded with any certainty that the three knives in question are either of Spanish or of North African origin.
Regarding the faca de ponta, I have to say that I am convinced that the antecedents of the form came from North Africa because I am unaware of any Spanish or Portuguese knife that looks like a faca de ponta but, as Wodimi's site amply shows, there are a lot of Northern African ones that do. As a personal aside, I bought my first faca de ponta early in my collecting "career". At that time, I was certain that it was some sort of African dagger and spent a long time searching for an African origin until I stumbled upon the correct information.
Sincerely,
RobT
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