Hi everyone,
I wanted to seek comments on the item below. If pressed, I would have to classify this as a Persian blade. I know the exact naming can be a point of contention, so I will simply leave it at "blade" and let all of you weigh in on the correct nomenclature. Having never actually had one of these in hand before, I am surprised at the dimensions. Seeing pictures in books, they seem much smaller, but this size seems consistent with knives intended for serious purpose. This also has a thickened point that I tried to show in one of the pictures.
I won't even hazard a guess as to age, other than somewhere between 1-2020 CE. If you can narrow it down to somewhere in that 2000 year range, that would be appreciated
The hilt, however, seems poorly matched to this blade. It would seem the shoulders of the blade, as currently mounted, between the ricasso and the hilt, should rest inside the hilt itself lending an extra level of stability to the construction. This leads me to conclude the hilt is a much later addition and was crafted by someone not overly familiar with such knives. Of course, I could just be revealing my inexperience and be completely wrong.
The scabbard, despite its current coloration is steel/iron. It still has a ton of rust on it, but I wanted to specify it isn't brass. I am curious if it would have originally been lined with wood, but as of now, it is all metal. You'll notice it is missing the terminal finial.
As always, all comments are welcome!
Specifications:
Overall length - 17.5" (43.5cm)
Blade length - from tip to shoulder 12" (30.5cm)
Hilt length - 5" (13cm)
Blade width at shoulder - 2" (5.25cm)
Thanks everyone