Dagger
India, Mughal dynasty, late 17th century
Watered steel blade, hilt of nephrite jade inlaid with gold, rubies, and emeralds
Mughal courtiers wore splendid ceremonial daggers embellished with gems and precious metals. Fashioned from the finest watered steel, their blades were, when need arose, lethally sharp. Those made in the imperial workshops were given and coveted as signs of royal favor. The smoothly rounded hilt, with cusps for its wearer's fingers, is made from nephrite, a particularly hard and difficult-to-work jade found in Central Asian riverbeds.
Dagger
India, Mughal dynasty, late 17th century
Watered steel blade, hilt of nephrite jade inlaid with gold, rubies, and emeralds
Mughal courtiers wore splendid ceremonial daggers embellished with gems and precious metals. Fashioned from the finest watered steel, their blades were, when need arose, lethally sharp. Those made in the imperial workshops were given and coveted as signs of royal favor. The smoothly rounded hilt, with cusps for its wearer's fingers, is made from nephrite, a particularly hard and difficult-to-work jade found in Central Asian riverbeds.