675 - Indian Khanjar Dagger with Horse Head Jade Hilt and Damascus Blade, 20th C.

Indian Khanjar Dagger with Horse Head Jade Hilt and Damascus Blade, 20th C. Steel, jade. Khanjar with a strongly curved, double-edged Damascus blade whose pattern runs across the whole blade surface as a fine, flowing linear drawing. The hilt of green jade is worked fully in the round as a horse's head: the mane in graduated strands, the ears laid back, the nostrils open, the eyes set with red stones. The forte with engraved decoration of floral motifs and a bird. Condition commensurate with age. Blade length 26.5 cm, overall length 40 cm The khanjar is the curved dagger of the Indian and Persian world; under the Mughals it became a weapon of status whose value lay less in the blade than in the hilt. Jade hilts with animal heads worked in the round, such as horse, ram, lion or nilgai antelope, are among the best known forms of this court art and were made from the 17th century to the present day. Damascus steel is produced by forge-welding layers of steel with differing carbon content; the visible pattern is the result of this layering and is brought out by etching.