Some pics of the nearly cleaned hilt, certainly seems to be silver with faint remains of a 'fish scale' pattern (snake ? Naga ?) which does not show up clearly. I have found a picture of a similarly decorated hilt but mine is more 'scale-like'.
Seems that another decorative feature of the hilt ie the scales, could indicate associations with the sea
Please, has anyone any ideas as to origin ?
Kind Regards David