677 - Axe with Mother-of-Pearl Haft and Ornamented Head with Inscription Cartouches

Axe with Mother-of-Pearl Haft and Ornamented Head with Inscription Cartouches Metal, mother-of-pearl. Axe with a crescent-shaped edge, behind it a stepped, hexagonal neck block bearing a plain, undecorated ball finial. The head ornamented on both sides in gold and silver: lobed panels with large stylised characters in gold on a hatched ground, framed by borders of scrolls and star fillings; the neck block with framed inscription cartouches. The junction to the haft as a decorated ferrule, likewise with framed panels of characters and scrollwork. The round haft entirely faced with narrow mother-of-pearl plaques bevelled at their ends, the plaques separated by fine dark joints and set with small metal pins. The end of the haft as a decorated ferrule with a domed, flaring foot, on the outside with inscription cartouches in gold and flowering scrolls in silver, on the underside a flower rosette. Good condition commensurate with age, the mother-of-pearl with flaking and losses. Overall length 65 cm The form with a crescent-shaped edge and a long, slender haft corresponds to the tabar, the horseman's axe of the Indo-Persian region, which was carried as a weapon and equally as a mark of rank. The mother-of-pearl facing covering the whole haft and the decoration in gold and silver point to a decorative execution for display and for the trade. The inscription cartouches on pieces of this group are as a rule conceived ornamentally and do not render a continuous text.