Bidspirit auction | Spanish Colonial Belduque or Peasant

Spanish Colonial Belduque or Peasant Knife, Borderlands Period 1519-1821 - Spanish peasant knife, all-steel knife with makers mark to handle and with a distinctive hook to the end of the tang. Connected to early Spanish settlements in New Mexico. The Belduque became very popular with the Plains Indians, in particular, the Comanche in the 17th and 18th centuries. One New Mexican governor demanded Rio Grande farmers to bring in their plow shears to be pounded into Belduques, to meet the demand at trade fairs at the Pueblos of Taos or Pecos at the edge of the Great Plains. Size 13 1/2” L, blade 9” Southwestern US Arms and Armour Collection Condition: Overall piece shows signs of use, and slight loss to blade.