A Mughal gem-set jade-hilted dagger with a lion head pommel
The blue-grey jade is inlaid with gold floral spray. It has ruby eyes and rubies also decorate the base of the hilt. The watered steel blade is chiselled with Islamic inscriptions.
L. approx. 34 cm
Provenance:
Robert Hales, London (acquired in the 1970s)
Hales has only ever seen three of these lion hilts during 50 years of dealing and collecting. One, possibly the dagger presented, a copy from an old sepia photo so rather unclear, is illustrated in his book. The other is in the National Museum of Delhi, and if the one in the book is not the present dagger, this is the third one.
Only seldomly daggers in this grey shade banded jade turn up, seemingly all from the same workshop or hand. The jade is extremely rare and possibly only encountered in the late 17th century, hence the one batch of hilts that have been carved from it.
Literature:
Robert Hales, Oriental Arms and Armour: A Lifetime’s Passion, London, 2013, p. 28, no. 70
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