Sword Hilt
1680-1720 (made)
| Place of origin |
This hilt for a sword was made within the Mughal empire and probably dates to the late 17th or early 18th century. It belonged to the important collection of Mughal jades and other hardstones formed by Colonel Charles Seton Guthrie in the mid-19th century. Guthrie bought pieces that had been in the Mughal treasury in Delhi (broken up in 1857), and the Sikh treasury (annexed by the British in 1849), but it is not known specifically which pieces in his collection came from which source. However, jewelled nephrite jade hilts of this quality would probably have been rare, and the catalogues of the auctions of the Lahore treasury include references to similar pieces.
Part of Guthrie's collection was bought by the Indian Museum in 1868, and was later transferred to the South Kensington Museum. The rest of it was sold after his death at auction at Christie's, London, in 1875, when a Mr T. M. Whitehead bought this hilt, and sold it to the South Kensington Museum later that same year. The museum subsequently changed its name to the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Part of Guthrie's collection was bought by the Indian Museum in 1868, and was later transferred to the South Kensington Museum. The rest of it was sold after his death at auction at Christie's, London, in 1875, when a Mr T. M. Whitehead bought this hilt, and sold it to the South Kensington Museum later that same year. The museum subsequently changed its name to the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Nephrite jade, ruby, emerald, diamond and gold, fashioned using a variety of techniques |
| Brief description | Sword hilt; white nephrite jade set with diamonds and rubies in gold; Mughal, late 17th or early 18th century. |
| Physical description | Sword hilt, fashioned in two main parts and to a very high standard from white nephrite jade, set with 6 diamonds, 58 emeralds and 159 (from an original 161) rubies in gold (1 ruby is missing and another is unidentifiable) combined with fine, gold wire inlay. There is evidence of minor damage with fairly modern repairs. The decorative design is typically Mughal in the setting and treatment of the stones. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Object history | The hilt was in the important collection of Mughal jades and other hardstones formed by Colonel Charles Seton Guthrie in the mid-19th century. Guthrie bought pieces that had been in the Mughal treasury in Delhi (broken up in 1857), and the Sikh treasury (annexed by the British in 1849), but it was not recorded specifically which pieces in his collection came from which source. Part of his collection was bought by the Indian Museum and the rest of it was sold at auction at Christie's, London, in 1875, when a Mr T. M. Whitehead bought this hilt, selling it to the South Kensington Museum later that same year. |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | This hilt for a sword was made within the Mughal empire and probably dates to the late 17th or early 18th century. It belonged to the important collection of Mughal jades and other hardstones formed by Colonel Charles Seton Guthrie in the mid-19th century. Guthrie bought pieces that had been in the Mughal treasury in Delhi (broken up in 1857), and the Sikh treasury (annexed by the British in 1849), but it is not known specifically which pieces in his collection came from which source. However, jewelled nephrite jade hilts of this quality would probably have been rare, and the catalogues of the auctions of the Lahore treasury include references to similar pieces. Part of Guthrie's collection was bought by the Indian Museum in 1868, and was later transferred to the South Kensington Museum. The rest of it was sold after his death at auction at Christie's, London, in 1875, when a Mr T. M. Whitehead bought this hilt, and sold it to the South Kensington Museum later that same year. The museum subsequently changed its name to the Victoria and Albert Museum. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | 630-1875 |
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| Record created | December 15, 1999 |
| Record URL |
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