Polish Dagger Late 18th Century

This dagger is a bit special. It is fromPolish origin and can be dated from the last quarter of the 18th century, or from the very beginning of the 19th century.
What characterizes this weapon is the guard, the quillons of which are unequivocally shaped like fern branches. This evokes the Polish tradition of the Kupala festival, around the Summer Solstice, when at midnight participants go into the forest in search of the legendary fern flower, which only blooms on this night of the year. This mythical flower is believed to bring wealth and knowledge of the future to whoever finds it.
The Polish tale tells us of poor Pavel, who having found the flower, gives up picking it and prefers to return poor among his people, who are his true wealth and keep the possibility of hope, since he will not know what the future will bring .
The fern is also a symbol of the force of life which manages to be reborn, since even when dried out, if it is watered it can come back to life. When you know the history of Poland at this time, this symbolism takes on a special meaning.
BLADE: It is single-edged, with a large groove on each side. At the guard, the start of the blade is reinforced by a small metal part. Length of the blade = 20.4 cm, width near the guard = 2.3 cm, thickness near the guard 3.4mm
GUARD: it has quillons contariés, and represents branches of fern
HILT: made of bone, it presents a silhouette that the we find on other examples of Polish daggers and ends with a bulb with many petals (perhaps the mythical fern flower?) Small slit on one side near the pommel, and small, very barely visible lack at the base of the pommel.
SCABBARD: it is made of leather, with brass scabbard entry and bolt.

This unusual dagger is elegant, it will easily find its place on a gentleman's desk.
Shipping costs France 20€, Europe 30€ Ref B-DX 2328