A gem-set enamelled and gold-hilted steel dagger (khanjar)
India, probably Deccan, 18th Century
the double-edged watered steel blade of curved form with chiselled spine and two fullers, the forte engraved with geometric designs, the hilt of pistol-grip form with scrolling quillons, set with rubies in gold kundan forming floral motifs within a lattice on a ground of green enamel, the wood scabbard clad in red velvet
40.5 cm. long
Footnotes:
Provenance
The Mohammed Khalil Collection.

Published
M. K. Ibrahim, Islamic Arms and Armour, Vol. II, United Arab Emirates, 2022, p. 667, cat. no. 482.

The hilt of the present lot is comparable to a dagger in the Al-Sabah Collection, Kuwait (Inv. No. LNS 26 J ab). The guard is reminiscent of that found on a dagger in The Furusiyya Art Foundation Collection, decorated with green enamel and gem-set floral motifs (see Bashir Mohamed, The Arts of the Muslim Knight, the Furusiyya Art Foundation Collection, 2007, p. 219, no. 210, Inv. R-58). For a further example of a khanjar featuring gems on a green enamelled ground, see Robert Hales, Islamic and Oriental Arms and Armour: A Lifetime's Passion, London, 2013, p. 35, cat. 81.
This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: *
* VAT on imported items at a preferential rate of 5% on Hammer Price and the prevailing rate on Buyer's Premium.