Shakespeare Hilt Dagger

Welcome to bladeforums. That appears to be Indonesian "kris" style dagger with a statue of Shakespeare on it.

I can't even begin to guess the nationality of something like that! :confused:
 
2011_1222decdagger0008.jpg


Where does it say "Shakespeare" on the knife?

My first guess would be India as source of manufacture.
 
Hello,

It does not actually say Shakespeare anywhere on the knife, so I could be wrong. We asked around friends who all agreed it looked like typical shakespeare if anyone (not that it means anything, they are not experts), also there is a book and quill on the cross guard which seemed to fit.
 
From Wikipedia...."The first regular contact between Europeans and the peoples of Indonesia began in 1512, when Portuguese traders, led by Francisco Serrão, sought to monopolize the sources of nutmeg, cloves, and cubeb pepper in Maluku.[24] Dutch and British traders followed. In 1602 the Dutch established the Dutch East India Company (VOC) and became the dominant European power"

Maybe the guy on the knife is one of these early European explorers?
 
Not sure that's Shakespeare. The jeweled necklace is far more upper-class than Shakespeare ever was, and the large sword behind his back is very un-Shakespeare. If the knife is from or influenced by Indonesia, I'd think more about someone like Sir Francis Drake, who actually sailed to Indonesia when he circumnavigated the globe.
 
Thank you, this is already very insightful. What you say about the class, and sword, makes a lot of sense. I'm sorry that I jumped to the conclusion of shakespeare. I was searching the internet for figural or literary daggers to try and learn about this which is what led me to your site, previous people had posted about a satantic, and a french bronze figural hilt dagger which looked to be at least in the same ball park although the blade and figure subject were different. Any more information any one knows about this dagger would much appreciated, it's fascinating!
 
You're much more likely to get valid answers if you put this in B Levines forum...
 
It could just as likely be a Spaniard or Dutchman. They had much more contact with SE Asia and the East Indies that any Brit.
 
Can you post a beter picture of the blade. I would like to see a closeup of the blade surface.

n2s
 
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