Amazing piece!! Best I've ever seen. The silver work is superior. Not sure about Beja royalty, but could have been made for a high political leader with connections to the Beja like the Mirghani family who were also sufi leaders of the Khatmiyah order. Also, the Kassala political leadership could have made a political gift to an outsider, although the silver work would take too much time for a presentation to a visitor.
The profile of the grip is much flatter than the more recent double 'C" version. More like early 20th C. if not earlier. Remember the Italians were in Kassala during the Mahdiya, WW1 & WW2 with colonial ambitions.
The wood looks reddish color and different from the usual African Black Wood or Ebony traditionally/ virtually exclusively used for Beja knives made in Kassala. Not sure what that might mean. Maybe made in Eritrea with a different wood availability.
Well done,
Ed
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