A GEM SET JADE-HILTED DAGGER (KHANJAR) WITH SCABBARD

This exquisite dagger with its carved scale decoration jade hilt inlaid with rubies has a strong sculpted effect. The hilt is further inlaid with foliage, lotus flowers and poppies set with emeralds and rubies. The rich enamelled sheath fittings have later restorations with foliage on one side and chevron patterns on the other. The free running seeds within the blade are related to Iranian and Ottoman examples dating to sixteenth and seventeenth century, usually referred to as 'the tears of Allah' or 'the tears of the wounded' (Hales, 2013, p.31.)