A Mughal citrin and ruby inlaid green jade and gold khanjar and rare matching sheath mounts
The dark green jade inlaid with flowers and foliage of the finest form. The petals made from carved and foiled citrines with a central ruby and the leaves are made from white jade. The blade in wootz and koftgari decorated at the top with flowering tendrils.
L. approx. 35 cm
Provenance:
Robert Hales, London
Literature:
Robert Hales, Islamic and Oriental Arms and Armour: A Lifetime’s Passion, 2013, p. 47, no. 102 (ill.)
Jade daggers were normally worn inside the waistband and held in place by silk cords attached to jade toggles. This feature is often depicted in Indian miniature paintings.
This dagger has the finest inlaid gold observed by Hales and it is practically impossible to reproduce nowadays.
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