Dagger and Sheath
c. 1700 (made)
| Place of origin |
This dagger was made within the Mughal empire in the 18th century. The slightly recurved, double-edged, watered steel blade has a central ridge and is set into a pale grey nephrite hilt in the form of a pistol grip, with a scroll cross-guard that has been inset with four large and four small, round ruby cabochons. Both ends of the hilt are decorated with flowers and leaves, carved in low relief and there is a round ruby cabochon set into the underside of the hilt at the pommel which has a natural fracture on the left side.
The sheath is of wooden construction with a red-silk covering which is now faded. At either end there are gilt metal mounts that bear embossed designs that are closely similar to those on the jade hilt and they are set with thirteen of fourteen ruby cabochons, with one missing. There is a small, gilt metal loop attached to one edge, near the opening. The dagger had been on loan to the museum from about 1880 from Major-General Lumley Holland and was bought in 1955 from the executor of his widow.
The sheath is of wooden construction with a red-silk covering which is now faded. At either end there are gilt metal mounts that bear embossed designs that are closely similar to those on the jade hilt and they are set with thirteen of fourteen ruby cabochons, with one missing. There is a small, gilt metal loop attached to one edge, near the opening. The dagger had been on loan to the museum from about 1880 from Major-General Lumley Holland and was bought in 1955 from the executor of his widow.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 2 parts. (Some alternative part names are also shown below)
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| Materials and techniques | Steel, nephrite, ruby, wood, silk, gilt metal, fashioned using a wide variety of techniques. |
| Brief description | A dagger [peshkabz] with a watered steel blade and a grey nephrite jade hilt set with rubies together with a silk covered wooden sheath, with metal mounts set with rubies, Mughal, India, c. 1700 |
| Physical description | The dagger has a slightly recurved, double-edged, watered steel blade that has a central ridge running all along its mid-line. It is set into a pale grey nephrite hilt that is in the form of a pistol grip, with a scroll cross-guard that has been inset with four large and four small, round ruby cabochons. Both ends of the hilt are decorated with flowers and leaves, carved in low relief and there is a round ruby cabochon set into the underside of the hilt at the pommel which has a natural fracture on the left side. The sheath is of wooden construction with a red-silk covering which is now faded. At either end there are gilt metal mounts that bear embossed designs that are closely similar to those on the jade hilt and they are set with thirteen of fourteen ruby cabochons, with one missing. There is a small, gilt metal loop attached to one edge, near the opening. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Object history | Bought from Mrs C. D. Holland (with IS.98 and 100-1955) for £100.00 Mrs Holland was the executor of Mrs M. V. Roper Lumley-Holland. They had all been on loan to the museum from about 1880 from Major-General Lumley Holland. This object then numbered 3413 IS was then shown in The Art of India and Pakistan 1947-8. |
| Summary | This dagger was made within the Mughal empire in the 18th century. The slightly recurved, double-edged, watered steel blade has a central ridge and is set into a pale grey nephrite hilt in the form of a pistol grip, with a scroll cross-guard that has been inset with four large and four small, round ruby cabochons. Both ends of the hilt are decorated with flowers and leaves, carved in low relief and there is a round ruby cabochon set into the underside of the hilt at the pommel which has a natural fracture on the left side. The sheath is of wooden construction with a red-silk covering which is now faded. At either end there are gilt metal mounts that bear embossed designs that are closely similar to those on the jade hilt and they are set with thirteen of fourteen ruby cabochons, with one missing. There is a small, gilt metal loop attached to one edge, near the opening. The dagger had been on loan to the museum from about 1880 from Major-General Lumley Holland and was bought in 1955 from the executor of his widow. |
| Bibliographic reference | The art of India and Pakistan, a commemorative catalogue of the exhibition held at the Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1947-8. Edited by Sir Leigh Ashton. London: Faber and Faber, [1950]
p. 230, cat. no. 1189 |
| Other number | 3413(IS) - India Museum Catalogue Number |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | IS.99&A-1955 |
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| Record created | June 25, 2009 |
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