Dagger Hilt
ca. 1650 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This dagger hilt of pale green nephrite jade was probably made for a member of the Mughal court in the mid-17th century. It would originally have been set with precious stones, but these have been gouged out, making it possible to see an earlier stage in the complicated process of decorating jade artefacts. The original design would have consisted of flower heads set with stones such as diamonds, emeralds and rubies in gold. The gold used in Indian jewellery and jewelled artefacts is highly refined and extremely soft, enabling the craftsman to fashion the setting using tools but no heat. When decorating jade, the elements of the design to be set with stones would be deeply cut and then straight lines, as seen on this piece, or drilled dots, would be made at the base of the cavities to enable gold to adhere to the smooth surface and line the cavity. The stones would then be added. The dagger hilt was in the collection of Sir John Metcalf by 1874.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Greenish white nephrite jade, fashioned using abarasives and abrasive-coated tools. |
| Brief description | A dagger hilt with pistol grip, white nephrite jade, deeply incised flower and leaf design, for setting of gems and gold, Mughal, 17th century. Previous loan number LOAN:METCALFE.8 |
| Physical description | A sword hilt with a pistol grip, fashioned in greenish white nephrite jade, with contoured finger grips on the underside. There is a flower and leaf design deeply incised on the pommel and adjacent to the scroll-shaped quillons with the cavities having once housed inset gems and gold but these have since been removed. There is a groove carved into the blade end, which extends along most of the length of the quillons and there is also a hole drilled part way down the length of the handle in which resides a short length of shaped wooden dowel. The cavities have crude straight lines cut into the jade to enable the kundan, or soft gold, used for setting the stones to adhere to the surface. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Marks and inscriptions | 'Sing...[illegible]' (on label tied round grip, possibly in Sir John Metcalf's hand.) |
| Object history | This dagger hilt was originally in the collection of Sir John Metcalfe and was deposited on loan in the museum in 1874. |
| Summary | This dagger hilt of pale green nephrite jade was probably made for a member of the Mughal court in the mid-17th century. It would originally have been set with precious stones, but these have been gouged out, making it possible to see an earlier stage in the complicated process of decorating jade artefacts. The original design would have consisted of flower heads set with stones such as diamonds, emeralds and rubies in gold. The gold used in Indian jewellery and jewelled artefacts is highly refined and extremely soft, enabling the craftsman to fashion the setting using tools but no heat. When decorating jade, the elements of the design to be set with stones would be deeply cut and then straight lines, as seen on this piece, or drilled dots, would be made at the base of the cavities to enable gold to adhere to the smooth surface and line the cavity. The stones would then be added. The dagger hilt was in the collection of Sir John Metcalf by 1874. |
| Associated object | |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | IS.225-2006 |
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| Record created | October 25, 2006 |
| Record URL |
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