Help Identifying Strange Dagger

[indian-arts]

The grip material looks like serpentine and the blade looks like steel. I'm posting a close-up of the blade; let me know if any of you would like to see additional photos.

The knife itself does looks decorative. The blade shape certainly resembles Indian daggers (and a wyvern such as that carved into the blade is associated with the Wessex region of Great Britain, which had several army regiments deployed to India in the 19th and early 20th c.), but even if that explains the blade, the handle is still a mystery. If the workmanship isn't Indian, might it be from somewhere nearby? Perhaps somewhere influenced by Indian culture?

In some ways the handle resembles SE Asian carved handles I've seen here and there, but I'm certainly no expert, and I haven't been able to find anything exactly like it. I've been looking into British Army deployments in the region, but haven't found any link to Wessex yet.

Thanks for all the great input so far!