Arts of the Islamic World & India including Fine Rugs and Carpets
Arts of the Islamic World & India including Fine Rugs and Carpets
A Mughal jade-hilted horse-head dagger, India, 18th century
Auction Closed
March 31, 12:40 PM GMT
Estimate
15,000 - 20,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
the double-edged steel blade with central double rib decorated with gold damascene split-palmette design at the forte, hilt a pale grey green jade naturalistically rendered in the form of a horse's head with flared nostrils, teeth revealed and mane descending on one side, base with foliate scroll quillons flanking a poppy flowerhead
44.5cm.
The grip of the hilt is carved with grooves for the hand. According to Stuart Cary Welch, these grooves indicate a date in the second half of the seventeenth century, as grooves are rarely found prior to this period. Welch's close study of many animal figures in the Padhshanama also reveals that the small number of daggers with animal hilts were reserved for the use of princes such as Dara Shikoh and Shah Shuja. While the number of daggers with animal hilts increased during the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, these continued to function as indicators of the highest rank and position at court (see India: Art and Culture, 1300-1900, ed. S.C. Welch, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1985, pp.257-8).