|
3. JADE NILGAI DAGGER Northern India (Mughal) 17th Century Length of dagger: 34.5 cm Length of hilt: 12.2 cm Width of hilt: 6.1 cm |
A rare and finely carved jade dagger (khanjar) with a double- edged re-curved watered steel blade. The hilt of fine, very discreetly mottled celadon green jade is carved naturalistically in the form of a nilgai or blue bull. The beautifully proportioned head of the nilgai has elegant pointed ears and horns, rounded cheeks, gently flaring nostrils and a calm, steady gaze to the eyes. The superb poise of the nilgai and the fine, affectionate naturalism of the carving, suggest that this may be a portrait of a favourite royal pet bull. The grip is carved to the front with grooves for the fingers. The base of the hilt, constructed from a separate piece of jade, is carved in low relief to each side with an elegant iris flower flanked by two flower buds to the top. The guard and quillons are decorated with scrolling serrated saz leaves that terminate with a tendril curling into each quillon. According to Stuart Cary Welch who illustrates a similar nilgai dagger carved in dark spinach green jade in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, lively animal sculpture has been a staple of Indian art, not least under the Mughals, who loved, respected, and understood animals, often in the paradoxical way of hunters.(1) In as much as the religious tradition of the Mughals did not encourage large-scale figurative sculpture, their sculptural objects took on special importance.(2) Welch observes that objects made to be carried brought particular pleasure. A fine dagger at the belt accessible to eye and hand, was aesthetically satisfying as well as necessary. Like jewels, daggers indicated a Mughal’s position at court.(3) Although very fine weapons were available in the bazaars, the best ones came from the imperial workshops, and wearing one signalled imperial approval. Thus, a courtier knew another’s standing at a glance. A nobleman close to the emperor might have worn a jewel-sized portrait of Shah Jahan, while a member of Dara Shikoh’s faction proclaimed his loyalty with that prince’s likeness on his turban. (4) A close look at the many hundreds of elegant personages thronging the miniatures of the Padshahnama reveals that by far the most common form of dagger worn was the katar, with the curved khanjar next in popularity, followed by the straight-bladed kard.(5) Only a small number of hilts with animal finials are known, worn by Dara Shikoh and Shah Shuja.(6) Although animal-hilted daggers, ordinarily with horses, proliferated during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, they were exceedingly rare during the reign of Shah Jahan. A superbly sculptured hilt such as this one portraying a nilgai, with its acutely sensitive observation of the animal and its marvellous craftsmanship, could only have been made in the imperial ateliers. The nilgai dagger in the Metropolitan Museum is published in Stuart Cary Welch, India: Art and Culture 1300-1900, 1986, pp. 257-258, cat. no. 168. Provenance: Spink and Son, London The Stuart Cary Welch Collection References: 1. Stuart Cary Welch, India: Art and Culture 1300-1900, 1986, pp. 257-258. 2. Ibid. 3. Ibid. 4. Ibid. Welch notes that in the Windsor castle Padshahnama, both Dara Shikoh and Shah Shuja wear daggers with nilgai hilts in miniature that shows Shah Jahan receiving an embassy of Europeans (folio 116B). This is published and illustrated in King of the World: The Padshahnama: An Imperial Mughal Manuscript from the Royal Library, Windsor Castle, 1997, pp. 56-57, pl. 19. 5. Ibid. 6. Ibid. |