Hello,
I think your Kindjal is a mixture of parts which are made in different regions.
The blade is a type which is typical for Dagestan. Characteristical is the fuller which is not in the blade's center. Most of these blades were made in Dagestan, but of course they were also copied in other regions like Georgia. Without a makers mark it is difficult to state that the blade was definitely made in Dagestan. Many of them were exported from Dagestan and mounted in other regions in the local taste.
The handle doesn't look homogeneous to me. The rivets are far too big for the horn grips. You can often find similar rivets on steel mounted, Koftgari decorated Kindjals, many were made for example in Georgia. The grips itself have the right size for the blade, but they are of a bit crude qualitity. So, the grips and the rivets could be a later replacement, because both does not really look like belonging to the blade.
The scabbard is simply a later addition, you can see that because the transition between scabbard and handle is not very proper. It could been made in Syria, because we know many iron mounted daggers with silver work from there. Of course silver inlay is much more rare than Koftgari and the use of corals is also not so common there, but the general style matches. Also we know similar inlaid nacre from some originally Syrian regions like the Golan Heights. The handle nacre inlays of Druze daggers are nearly identical. Some pictures of Syrian daggers are added.
So I think your Kindjal was originally made in the Caucasus and over the time handle and/or rivets were replaced there and the scabbard was lost. In that condition the dagger went to Syria or an adjacent region and got it's scabbard. The scabbard is not very functional but very decorative, so I would say that this dagger was sold on a souk/bazar as a decorative item. That would also explain some qualitative weaknesses.
As a summary of my opinion, your dagger is an interesting mix of antique parts from different regions.
Regards
Robin
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