The Princely rulers of India were noted for the opulence and extravagance with which they led their lives. The possession of beautiful objects made from the most precious of materials was a display of both wealth and power. Images abound of these rulers draped with the finest pearls, diamonds, emeralds and rubies assembled into some of the finest jewellery the world has ever seen.
Naturally this extravagance extended to the personal weapons carried by these individuals and here we have a selection of some of the finest Indian edged weapons that we have seen in a long time. Primarily jade handled, the curve bladed daggers or 'Khanjar' as they are known in India, are set with diamonds, rubies and emeralds, the stones in fact set in place with fine gold. One dagger has very fine pearls set into the blade which is most unusual and each of the blades is decorated with fine gold damascene work.
One all steel dagger or 'Kard' is fully damascene embellished including the hilt which forms the shape of a bird with rubies for eyes. The quality of craftsmanship is superb as you would expect from the very finest workers of the day, engaged by the great families of India. You can now appreciate where some of the creative influence for the 'India' rifle came from and why we chose to inlay precious stones.
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Trigger on March 1, 2017 at 1:29 pm
Hi Peter
The horses head dagger just happens to be a coincidence. The Arab Horse guns were based on the owners own horses.
We will keep on plundering the vaults and hopefully bring up a few more surprises as time goes on.
All the very best
Trigger
Trigger on March 1, 2017 at 1:27 pm
Hi Ned
They form part of a private collection and are wonderful examples. Great workmanship.
Best regards
Trigger