Very fine Silver Lion hilted Khanjar dagger from India

An unsual very attractive 19th century Indian Khanjar dagger, the hilt modelled as a standing lion out of pure silver with finely chiselled engraved decoration. The standing lion figure is intertwined with leaves and flowers at the base, its features are very realistically portrayed showing the high level of craftsmanship employed to make this weapon. The sheath encloses a straight single edged steel blade, it is covered with blue velvet, and has silver mounts to the top and the bottom, again with fine chiselled and pierced decoration, the lower chape modelled as a peacock. 14 inches overall     indo persian