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- Dagger (khanjar)
- Unknown
- North India
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- Date: early 17th century
- Medium: Watered steel, gold, diamond, ruby, emerald, cat’s-eye chrysoberyl, rock crystal, enamel
- Length: 35.7 cm
- Weight: 0.51 kg, without scabbard
- Inv: OA1409
- Location: Arms and Armour I
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- Description
- Provenance
- Further Reading
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- This ornate dagger is inlaid with nearly two thousand emeralds, rubies and diamonds, all shaped to create the intricate geometric patterns and animal designs found on the hilt. Jewelled daggers of this type reflected the immense wealth of the 17th-century Mughal court and were worn only by those of highest rank – the emperor, his sons, and elite courtiers. They were gifted by the emperor as a sign of imperial favour, often to commemorate an important occasion. A painting of Prince Khurram by Abu'l-Hasan from about 1617 shows him wearing a similarly shaped dagger at his waist (V&A, IM.14-1925). An unusual feature found on both this dagger and the one depicted in the painting is the knuckle guard that extends into a bird’s head, which sits on the forward arm of the pommel. The portrait was likely painted around the time Emperor Jahangir bestowed his son Prince Khurram with his new title Shah Jahan, meaning ‘King of the World’. This was following his victorious return from a military campaign in the Deccan.