T.E. Lawrence. A north African kindjal presented by Lawrence to his friend Isaac "Ike" Webb

Property of a Gentleman

T.E. Lawrence

A north African kindjal presented by Lawrence to his friend Isaac "Ike" Webb

A north African kindjal, curved double-edged blade, hardwood grip with embossed brass pommel, in its brass sheath cast with foliate scroll decoration, with two suspension rings, c.405mm. long

THE DAGGER GIVEN BY T.E. LAWRENCE TO IKE WEBB AND MENTIONED BY WEBB IN HIS WILL. ONE OF VERY FEW DAGGERS TO HAVE A COMPLETE TRACEABLE PROVENANCE BACK TO LAWRENCE.

Isaac ("Ike") Webb was the chief mechanic and works manager of the Brough Motorcycle Works in Nottingham and Lawrence had a long friendship with him. Lawrence even lent Webb the manuscript of The Seven Pillars of Wisdom, which was kept for some weeks in the Brough Works safe. Webb valued the gift of Lawrence's dagger sufficiently to mention it in his will in 1966 (a photocopy of which is here included), where he bequeaths "the three large photographs of self, Geo. Brough and Lawrence, and also the knife presented to me by Lawrence" to his son Cyril. It was subsequently sold by Webb's family at auction in Nottingham on 22 June 1995.

PROVENANCE:

Presented by T.E. Lawrence to Isaac "Ike" Webb; bequeathed by Webb to his son Cyril; sold by Cyril Webb's family at auction in Nottingham, 22 June 1995; sold at Sotheby's London, 17 December 1996, lot 293