Beautiful dagger with Mughal jade handle. Steel partly inlai - Lot 97

Beautiful dagger with Mughal jade handle. Steel partly inlaid with gold, carved jade. India, circa 1700 for the hilt, and oriental blade from the same period (reassembled and slightly reduced). Length : 47.5 cm. Gross weight: 417.3 g. Expert : A.R. A Mughal handle in green jade carved with floral motifs, featuring a baluster-shaped central shaft, with quillons at its base forming two volutes, repeated in the upper part. It is topped by a flower bud. The presence of a sinuous guard branch, in good condition as is the case here, is rare. Most arms of this shape do not feature one, or have lost it. The (reused) Damascus steel blade is straight, double-edged with a central edge. It is decorated with inlaid long gold fillets, and on one side with gold-inlaid calligraphy. Partly truncated, it literally quotes "the arms manufacturer" and "the great emperor". The word "emperor" is written in Western phonetics ("emperador"), referring to the European blades sometimes inscribed in Spanish, which are found reassembled on some Oriental weapons. Similar shaped khanjar handles are published in: Hales, R. (2013) Islamic and Oriental arms and armour: a lifetime's passion, Robert Hales C.I. Ltd, p. 23, n°58 and 59.