Sword hilt
- Place of origin:
India (possibly, made)
Pakistan (possibly, made)
- Date:
- Artist/Maker:
- Materials and Techniques:
White nephrite jade, rubies, emeralds, diamonds and gold
- Museum number:
- Gallery location:
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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 was known to have 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 not 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.
Physical description
Sword hilt; white nephrite jade set with diamonds and rubies in gold. The decorative design is typically Mughal in the setting and treatment of the stones.
Place of Origin
India (possibly, made)
Pakistan (possibly, made)
Date
1680-1720 (made)
Artist/maker
Unknown (production)
Materials and Techniques
White nephrite jade, rubies, emeralds, diamonds and gold
Dimensions
Height: 17.5 cm, Width: 9.7 cm
Object history note
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 was known to have 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 not 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.
Descriptive line
Sword hilt; white nephrite jade set with diamonds and rubies in gold; Mughal, late 17th or early 18th century.
Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)
Susan Stronge, "Colonel Guthrie's Collection. Jades of the Mughal Era", Oriental Art, Winter 1993/94, vol. XXXIX, no. 4, fig.1, p. 4 Susan Stronge, ed., The Arts of the Sikh Kingdoms, V&A Publications, London 1999, cat. 89 p. 220 and plate 65 p. 66.
Exhibition History
The Victoria and Albert Museum: Art and Design For All (Kunst und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Bonn 18/11/2011-15/04/2012)
The Arts of the Sikh Kingdoms (01/01/1999-31/12/2000)
Materials
Gold; Diamond; Ruby; Emerald; Jade
Subjects depicted
Flowers (plants)
Categories
Arms and Armour
Collection code
SSEA
