Knife Handle thumbnail 1
Not currently on display at the V&A

Knife Handle

c. 1850 (made)
Place of origin

These dagger handle parts were produced in Ahmedabad in Gujarat State, India, in the mid- to late 19th century. The city has long been associated with the production of decorative and/or utilitarian wares from local quartz hardstones and to this day it continues to be a major gem cutting and trade centre. They were acquired by the Indian Museum in London and transferred to South Kensington in 1879.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 2 parts.
(Some alternative part names are also shown below)
  • Knife Handle
  • Dagger Handle
  • Knife Handle
  • Dagger Handle
Materials and techniques
Moss agate, cut and polished using abrasives and with the holes most probably being made using a bow-drill.
Brief description
Matched halves of a knife handle, green moss agate, carved and polished with deep engraving, each having two drill holes for attachment to a blade, Ahmedabad India, 19th century
Physical description
Matched left and right halves of a knife handle, each with a v-shaped notch at one end with the other end being curved and blunt. Fashioned in green moss agate, with a deeply engraved herringbone-like pattern along most of the length and with a small drill hole at each end.
Dimensions
  • 01404( is) length: 92.5mm
  • 01404( is) width: 20.5 to 21.5mm
  • 01404( is) thickness: 10.2 to 11.1mm
  • 01404 a ( is) length: 92.5mm
  • 01404 a ( is) width: 20.5 to 21.5mm
  • 01404 a ( is) thickness: 10.0 to 10.5mm
Object history
These objects were formerly in The India Museum in London and were then transferred to the South Kensington Museum (later renamed The Victoria & Albert Museum) in 1879. 1880 Register Entry: [Room 8. Case .] '01,404. KNIFE HANDLE. In two parts, agate. 12,799'
Summary
These dagger handle parts were produced in Ahmedabad in Gujarat State, India, in the mid- to late 19th century. The city has long been associated with the production of decorative and/or utilitarian wares from local quartz hardstones and to this day it continues to be a major gem cutting and trade centre. They were acquired by the Indian Museum in London and transferred to South Kensington in 1879.
Associated object
01405(IS) (Shared Other number)
Other number
12,799 - India Museum Slip Book
Collection
Accession number
01404(IS) to 01404A/(IS)

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Record createdJune 25, 2009
Record URL
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