Thread: Persian Dagger
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Old 3rd September 2020, 01:24 PM   #7
Oliver Pinchot
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Join Date: Sep 2012
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Considering the goldwork, the blade, whatever it may be, was intended to have a guard with langets, despite it's size. I've seen similar, they are not repurposed, simply unusual. It bears the classic inscription, "There is no hero like 'Ali, and no sword like Zulfaqar," so a surgical application seems unlikely.
The goldwork was done in the mid-19th century.

The grip is made up; the wooden block is decorated with the wristplate from an 18th century armguard. The notion of tourist trinkets is an ancient one in the Middle East and Central Asia. Britain and France, and later, Russia, maintained a presence in Iran for much of the 19th century. It may well have been fabricated as a gift or memento.
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