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Dagger

Rock crystal, gold, ruby, emerald, diamond, textiles | 27.4 x 7.8 x 3.3 cm (whole object) | RCIN 11275

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  • An early seventeenth century Mughal dagger (khanjar) with a rock crystal hilt inlaid with rubies in a gold tracery design; with later sheath with gold mounts. Recorded in the North Corridor Inventory of Windsor Castle c.1870 as no 803 a ‘Nepalese’ dagger and later noted in the collection of King Edward VII in the early 20th century. The 'Nepalese' label may associate the dagger with gifts presented to Queen Victoria by the Envoy of Nepal at Windsor Castle in 1850.

    Such ear daggers can be seen in Mughal paintings from the reign of the Emperor Jahangir, notably the well known painting attributed to 1618 in the Freer Gallery, Washington D.C., of an imaginary encounter between the Mughal Emperor Jahangir and the Persian Shah Abbas, where the Emperor and Asaf Khan both wear them. A number of these daggers with straight quillons in a Persian style survive.

    The rock crystal hilt of this khanjar, much like the wine cup in the al-Sabah Collection (LNS 208HS), was probably made by Persian craftsmen working in the Imperial Mughal workshop.
  • Creator(s)
  • Medium and techniques

    Rock crystal, gold, ruby, emerald, diamond, textiles

    Measurements

    27.4 x 7.8 x 3.3 cm (whole object)


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