Sorry Ron,
It's my misreading of your paragraph on the Holbein dagger.
I tend to agree with you on the age of the piece (I'm guessing century or less) but I'm trying to figure out what's going on with the ricasso and the horn on the grip. Either it's a really nice, slowly corroding alloy, or someone has done a really nice job cleaning it. With the horn on the grips, it's showing only minor splits, which again argues for good care or good climate control so that the horn didn't dry out and crack.
It's an interesting mix, since the blade is in rougher condition, and the guard is appears to be showing a bit of rust. It makes me wonder if it was rehilted at some point, while retaining the original guard.
F
|