My Birthday Present: Knife for ID Please

[fearn]

Hi All,

Neat piece! To me, the most surprising thing is that it's sharp. I would have guessed that it was dull, given the odd shape, the chain hanger, and all the symbolism.

I'm starting to wonder if those figures on the handle aren't supposed to be Dionysius (or Bacchus) with a satyr covering his crotch so that he wouldn't appear nude. That design has me scratching my head, because I know Greek and Roman mythology pretty well, and it isn't ringing any bells. I'm also wondering whether the design is supposed to be (homo)erotic in some way, or merely humorous. In guessing that it was something to do with Dionysius, I'm going with the humorous interpretation, but I really don't know. Perhaps Samson? I'm missing a clue here.

I'm not sure what to make of all the blade markings, but someone went to a lot of trouble to do sun, moon, starrish things and a fascus, spears, swords, and drum.

Perhaps it's a super duper fruit and cheese knife for a high end party?

Hi Fernando,

We can talk over a glass of shiraz (first grown in Iran) and talk about whether all muslims strictly follow the precepts of Islam... Human figures aren't supposed to be shown, but they aren't supposed to drink alcohol, either. That said, I don't think it's Muslim, but beyond guessing European, I don't know what to make of it.

F

[CourseEight]

Thanks again everyone for your insights. A couple more things to clear up:

The tip is NOT sharp, nor is the interior of the "heart" shape. And the sharpening job definitiely looks intentional and by design; it goes from a very keen edge and gradually thickens to about 2 mm thick. I.e. it doesn't look like a tulward ricasso, where it goes from sharp to dull somewhat abruptly because the blade just stopped being sharpened.

The chain does indeed appear to be non-functional. In fact, suspending it by the chain makes the blade hang almost vertically upside down, because the brass handle is so heavy. Suspending it by just the attachment point closest to the handle makes the knife hang approximately horizontal.

I like the Baccus idea (there do appear to be grapes there) but the guy holding the other man's crotch is definitely a human, as you can see his toes in one of the pictures rather than a goat-foot. My brother-in-law suggested the hanging man could be Prometheus?

Thanks again, and hopefully this additional info will be useful!

--Radleigh