Knife Handle
c. 1850 (made)
| Place of origin |
This handle was made in India in the 19th century, with most of the fashioning process involving a combination of hand-working and the use of abrasive-charged discs that would have been turned on a bow-driven lathe. Decorative handles such as this would have been produced in large quantities, most probably for export to the European market.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Bloodstone, cut and polished using abrasives with the hole most probably being made using a bow-driven drill. |
| Brief description | Knife handle, opaque, bloodstone, cut and polished, drill hole in narrower end broken and repaired, India, 19th century |
| Physical description | A polished handle of gently tapering rectangular form with stepped edges and with both ends cut square. The narrower end has a roughly ground, slightly recessed band and a longitudinal drill hole. Fashioned in bloodstone with an opaque, dark green/beige/grey body with numerous fine red spots. It has been broken and repaired. |
| Dimensions |
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| Object history | This handle was made in India in the 19th century and was formerly in The India Museum in London. It was then transferred to the South Kensington Museum (later renamed The Victoria & Albert Museum) in 1879. 1880 Register Entry: [Room 8. Case .] '01,417 to 01,422. KNIFE HANDLES, six. Ground edges, variegated agate, &c.' (No slip numbers given.) |
| Summary | This handle was made in India in the 19th century, with most of the fashioning process involving a combination of hand-working and the use of abrasive-charged discs that would have been turned on a bow-driven lathe. Decorative handles such as this would have been produced in large quantities, most probably for export to the European market. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 01417(IS) |
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| Record created | June 25, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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