[Philip]

Originally Posted by shayde78

Thank you, Philip and Fernando. Again, my attribution of this piece to Spain was based upon the hilt bearing similarities to other knives made in the region, including the example I provided from the reference book. Nothing matched entirely, which is why I wanted to seek feedback here.

Philip, I agree it is a long shot, and the similarities are not extensive, BUT the profile of the pugio does indeed have some parallels to the dagger in question. In fact, more so than anything else I've been able to find, at least regarding the junction with the hilt and the concave ricasso. Great point to make, even if there is no direct link, it is interesting to see certain forms represented/repeated on disparate pieces.

Thanks again

Yes, I don't dispute that going from pugio to this is a very far reach. But I figured it might be worth throwing out there anyway.

Having looked at the other contributions, showing certain analogies to Thai dagger, Philippine knives, and guards on Thai lances, those are intriguing and history shows that those cultural areas were, over time, affected by influences from Europe (think Portugal, Spain, and the Netherlands). So we can't definitely rule out anything. After all, we see Sri Lankan polearms with heads clearly patterned after European partizans of the 16th cent., and French bush knives of the 19th cent. with falchion-like blades (douk-douk) shaped just like those on Vietnamese weapons (dao truong)

In particular, I can't but help notice that the barrel-shaped form of the grip, with ferrules, is one of those elements: lots of central and northern Philippine knives seem to have it, as well as those plug-bayonet-like hunting knives popular in 16th-17th cent. southern Europe. But what about the WORKMANSHIP AND DECORATION of the hilt of the dagger that is the subject of this thread -- the longitudinal ribbing with applied metal inlays?

A very similar style appears on the hilt of the Spanish knife illustrated in the image out of the book which was posted earlier. Just out of curiosity, has anyone seen this decorative technique on the hilt of one of those Philippine or Thai daggers which otherwise have a strong resemblance?

I've noticed close-spaced longitudinal ribbing on the ebony or rosewood grips of some Vietnamese and southern Chinese fighting knives but none of those exhibit any metal inlay.