Description

blade: 22cm

A striking 19th century South American gaucho dagger featuring a long tapered steel blade and a beautifully turned bone handle with decorative white metal mounts.

The dagger displays the elegant and practical form traditionally associated with the horsemen of the South American pampas, known as gauchos.

The blade is of slender spear-point profile with a central fuller running towards the tip, while the handle is crafted from polished natural bone, mounted with engraved white metal collars and decorative detailing.

Knives of this type were essential tools carried by gauchos throughout Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina during the 19th century, serving both as everyday utility implements and as symbols of status and identity.

The combination of steel, bone and engraved metalwork reflects the blend of European and South American craftsmanship that characterises traditional gaucho weapons.

With its impressive proportions and authentic period construction, this example displays beautifully as part of a collection of antique edged weapons, ethnographic artefacts, country sporting antiques or South American historical objects.