with bright curved double-edged blade cut with central fullers over each side tapering to the point of diamond section, the narrow central fuller forming a ridge towards the point, cutting-edge on one side at the forte pricked with an armoury number in Indian numerals, silver-gilt hilt comprising down bent quillons each with stylised monster-head terminal, large cartouche-shaped langets each cast and chased with a central beaded oval framing a palm tree flanked by peacocks affronte, a deep collar above and all with slender beaded borders, and grip of sardonyx in ovoidal section rising to a rounded pommel beaked on each side, 25.0 cm blade

Provenance

Philippe Missillier Collection, no. 48C

There are two daggers with sardonyx hilts in the Jaipur armoury (Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Museum, City Palace, Jaipur, inv.no MJM17.1758 and MJM25.1282, Elgood 2015, pp. 54-5): Elgood suggests these are European hilts of the 17th century. However, agate was carved extensively in Gujarat and elsewhere in India, and the form of this dagger hilt with a symmetrical lunate pommel is closer to Deccani shapes, including an earlier crystal hilt mounted on a khanjar in Jaipur (Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Museum, City Palace, Jaipur, inv.no MJM65.1580; Elgood 2015, p. 29, no. 02). A dagger in the Furusiyya Collection with a lunette pommel is dated to the late 17th century from the Deccan (Mohamed 2008, p. 219, no. 210). A sardonyx hilt in a waisted ‘I’ form is mounted on a dagger blade with inscriptions naming Shah Jahan and dated 1629-30 (Museum of Islamic Art, Doha, inv. no. MW.579.2008.1; Gonella et al 2022, p. 407, no. 11.10).

For another Indian dagger with a chalcedony grip see Hales, 2013, p. 56, fig. 114.

There are two groups of inventory numbers in Devanagari numerals at the forte: one of two numerals (reading 28?), the other of four numerals (reading 5024).