Dagger Hilt
| Place of origin |
This dagger hilt was made within the Mughal empire in the 18th centur. The colourless clarity of the rock crystal would have enhanced the appearance of the dagger, while the weight of the hilt would have helped to counter-balance the steel blade. A major disadvantage would have been that sharp impacts to the hilt could have resulted in severe damage to it, possible sufficient to render the dagger unusable without a replacement hilt.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Rock crystal, cut and polished using abrasives and abrasive-charged tools. The hole was most probably made using a bow-drill. |
| Brief description | Dagger hilt with pistol grip, rock crystal, engraved with flowers and leaves, India |
| Physical description | A short dagger hilt with a pistol grip. The blade end is cut square and has a single drill hole located off-centre. Fashioned in colourless rock crystal, polished and decorated with engraved flowers and leaves. |
| Dimensions |
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| Object history | This dagger hilt was bought in 1876 by the South Kensington Museum (later renamed the Victoria & Albert Museum) for the sum of 18 shillings. |
| Summary | This dagger hilt was made within the Mughal empire in the 18th centur. The colourless clarity of the rock crystal would have enhanced the appearance of the dagger, while the weight of the hilt would have helped to counter-balance the steel blade. A major disadvantage would have been that sharp impacts to the hilt could have resulted in severe damage to it, possible sufficient to render the dagger unusable without a replacement hilt. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 660-1876 |
About this object record
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| Record created | June 25, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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