This is a follow-on to
Chevalier's thread about "gaucho" knives. While I must concede that some of these really do look like 'overgrown ornate silverware,' there are others which I would contend escape this description and I submit this example for your consideration.
This is the very first "gaucho" knife I collected, very early in my collecting in the front end of the 1970s and it remains my favorite even though I now have several showing 'finer' workmanship and in better condition.
The quality blade is quite worn from repeated sharpening with a remaining 'GEN' inscription suggesting a German origin. The back of the blade is adorned with file work.
I interpret this as a fairly rustic creation from a
platero in the countryside, rather than from a fine shop in the city. I will have to ask for help as to dating it, though I will argue for the 19th century. An Argentinian origin appears unambiguous.
The hilt is adorned with a large serpent (anaconda?) and the Argentinian crest. The scabbard includes two men in 19th century military dress and, I presume, Lady Liberty with an Argentinian flag. The stamped inscription "Napoleon III" is more mechanical and with sharper edges, so I interpret this as a later 'enhancement.' This scene also features an Argentinian flag.
I will now let the artist's own work speak for itself through the haze of my again failed photographic attempts...