Karud dagger with unusual chased scabbard

ariel · 4th December 2022, 03:53 AM

IMHO, it is a typical Afghani Pesh Kabz with straight blade, popularly known among collectors as Karud. The chamfered edge is a dead giveaway.
The handle was repaired as witnessed by the inserts.
The 2x1x1 rivets occasionally were seen on Central Asian daggers.
I would not exclude elephant ivory as a handle materiel from these pics, the slabs suggest solid source. It is for you to decide. The bone, IMHO, is less likely because of concentric cracks at the top of the pommel and the absense of superficial short black lines going lengthwise: remnants of periostal blood vessels. Also, it might be interesting to see a pic of the top of the pommel: any long bone has a bone marrow cavity that would present as an " open space" in the middle. Would also measure the thickness of the solid " bony" materiel at the top: it looks very thick and it might be difficult to imagine a long bone with such a thick cortical layer. Walrus is also unlikely: no secondary dentin seen. I would not exclude the possibility of a scabbard belonging to another, smaller, Pesh Kabz with leather ( or fabric?) extension being added to accomodate this bigger sample.

I see nothing that would suggest, and am unaware of any similar dagger in either Nepal or China. Both are far away from Afghanistan.

These are just suggestions: you have it in your hands and can correct each and every of my uncertainties.

4th December 2022, 03:53 AM	#3
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	IMHO, it is a typical Afghani Pesh Kabz with straight blade, popularly known among collectors as Karud. The chamfered edge is a dead giveaway. The handle was repaired as witnessed by the inserts. The 2x1x1 rivets occasionally were seen on Central Asian daggers. I would not exclude elephant ivory as a handle materiel from these pics, the slabs suggest solid source. It is for you to decide. The bone, IMHO, is less likely because of concentric cracks at the top of the pommel and the absense of superficial short black lines going lengthwise: remnants of periostal blood vessels. Also, it might be interesting to see a pic of the top of the pommel: any long bone has a bone marrow cavity that would present as an " open space" in the middle. Would also measure the thickness of the solid " bony" materiel at the top: it looks very thick and it might be difficult to imagine a long bone with such a thick cortical layer. Walrus is also unlikely: no secondary dentin seen. I would not exclude the possibility of a scabbard belonging to another, smaller, Pesh Kabz with leather ( or fabric?) extension being added to accomodate this bigger sample. I see nothing that would suggest, and am unaware of any similar dagger in either Nepal or China. Both are far away from Afghanistan. These are just suggestions: you have it in your hands and can correct each and every of my uncertainties.