posted 04-18-2006 03:27 PM            

When I first saw this I almost left it at the store. My thoughts ran to thinking it was a souvenir object or letter opener. It may well be one of these, but it didn't fall from that turnip truck any time soon. It is not sharp enough for a knife, nor pointed enough for a dirk, nor slim enough for a letter opener. Both sides are slightly different. Each side has 3 "nudes" One side shows a seated man, with a bow shooting a stag, a woman and a man. Opposite side shows a seated man with a large (lion size no main) facing him. Then a man/woman facing a man/woman. This side is much more worn that the other side. There is wear on the hilt as well, more on one side than the other. At the top of the "blade" there is some type of spread wing insect or bat. A snake is winding up the hilt, while a beaked creature has it's tongue out. The length is 9" and at the widest point it is 1 1/4" I purchased it at a charity store. To be continued .......

posted 04-19-2006 10:31 AM            

It looks like a relatively modern (within the past 50 years) reproduction of an Indian ceremonial knife of the kind that is sold in the flea markets to tourists, though it could also be from one of the nearby countries as well. These tend to be fairly crudely made and are cast either in brass or bronze. The lack of edges and detail on yours support this guess.

posted 04-19-2006 05:59 PM            

That claw-like thing that comes out of the cross-guard is supposed to be used to clip it to a belt. You would slide the knife under your belt or a cloth band and the claw would hook down over the belt or band to keep it from sliding all the way down and out. It would not have had a scabbard.

As for page turners, yes they are real but the ones I have seen tend to be religious objects and I am not sure anyone uses them anymore. The idea was to keep a religious book that was very valuable and revered but used constantly in nice clean condition without the build up of body oils and dirt on the pages that would happen over time. I don't think this is a page turner though, as those tend to be made of ivory or jade or a fine wood and look more like a butter knife.

posted 04-21-2006 09:52 AM            

It looks to me to be late Victorian. I've seen a lot of the Chinese bronze forgeries -- even own a few, since for the price some of them make great examples of bronze work -- but in that context I've never seen anything like this. The design does not appear to be either authentic Chinese or the typical sort of fantasy-inspired design. It looks to me like a Victorian English or American version, inspired by Asian motifs.

In addition to the 'page turners', which were used as described, there are/were items often called 'page openers', 'page cutters', or even 'book knives', and sometimes also called page turners. Through the 19th century and well into the 20th, published books were often delivered, intentionally, with the top edge uncut, so that the folds of the pages by which the individual signatures of the book were composed were still there, holding the pages together (book pages were/are printed on large sheets and then folded, typically into quarters, eighths, or sixteenths (thus the terms for book sizes, quarto/4o, octavo/8o, 16mo, etc); the spine edge fold then gets stitched into the tape that holds all of the individual signatures (also sometimes called gathers) together to make up the book, and the other folded edges are cut off so the pages open properly). Even today one still occasionally gets a new book that has been folded and/or trimmed slightly off, so that some of the pages will still be attached at the folds. But in the past the top edge was often left for the dealer or final purchaser to open -- perhaps so one knew it was, in fact, a new book.

If you've ever tried doing this, you'll know that a sharp knife edge is not the best tool; they tend to actually cut into the paper, and not follow the weakened line of the fold. A dull edge will force the pages to separate along that fold.

I use a new bookbinder's tool, a whalebone folder, for this job, but I also have antique examples of page openers in ivory and metal. The size of this is right, and the style would fit with the Victorian aesthetic one might expect in some book lovers of the time.

posted 04-21-2006 01:12 PM            

Were page cutters tied on something or on a chain? If so that would account for the hole. Also if the user had a favorite way of holding it, it may account for the wear to one side over the other.

posted 04-23-2006 06:36 PM            

I have been puzzled by the lack of any tarnish. Any ideas on the metal that may have been used? It was dull brownish color when I got it.(dirty) After a wash (soap and water)it cleaned up nice. It was exactly the same color that my 18KT cuff looked like at first and then turned out to be just like this. Am I silly enough to think this is gold? Naw but it was and is just like the cuff. The one picture that looks kinda brown/green is not the color it is at all, just the way the light was shining on it I suppose.