Code EU29
This is a Spanish puñal from the town of Albacete, sometimes simply known as an "albacete”. These knives are particularly associated with Basque Resistance during Spain’s alliance with Napoleon, 1803-1808.
The total length is 11 ½ inches. The sheath may or may not be original. The blade is pierced with an elongated key slot (sometimes called a "dog bone" with an inner brass plate, flanked by circle piercings through the blade. The purpose of the brass inset in the cut-out slot is unknown. Some think it may have been intended as a depository for poison, others claim a purpose in sail-making. The guard is in the shape of an elongated diamond. The blade has a rounded diamond cross section the sports a small flattened medial ridge. A stipple tendril pattern decorates the blade.
The hilt is ornately engraved in patterns typical of Moorish Spain. The bone inlay panels give the hilt a striking beauty.
