Knife and Sheath
18th century (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The pihiya or piha kaetta was a hand knife of often delicate workmanship from Southern India and Sri Lanka. It was commonly carried in an ornate scabbard as a personal accessory and sometimes also included a stylus for writing on palm leaf. The degree of decoration often signified the rank or status of the individual and ornate knives were presented to individuals as tokens of esteem.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 2 parts. (Some alternative part names are also shown below)
|
| Brief description | Knife and sheath piha kaettaforged steel with a horn hilt overlaid with gold, with a wooden sheath, Sri Lanka, 18th century |
| Gallery label |
|
| Object history | As originally arranged and displayed in Exhibition Road Indian Museum galleries until 1955, with some additions while in storage, case F.696 |
| Summary | The pihiya or piha kaetta was a hand knife of often delicate workmanship from Southern India and Sri Lanka. It was commonly carried in an ornate scabbard as a personal accessory and sometimes also included a stylus for writing on palm leaf. The degree of decoration often signified the rank or status of the individual and ornate knives were presented to individuals as tokens of esteem. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 1574-1902 |
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
| Record created | June 25, 2009 |
| Record URL |
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest
