A SERPENTINE AND ROCK-CRYSTAL HILTED SWORD

NORTH INDIA, HILT PROBABLY 19TH CENTURY, BLADE 1750-1800

Details

A SERPENTINE AND ROCK-CRYSTAL HILTED SWORD
NORTH INDIA, HILT PROBABLY 19TH CENTURY, BLADE 1750-1800
The hilt carved from a single piece of jade, set with carved rock-crystal lozenges and rubies, watered-steel blade inscribed and inlaid with gold royal parasol (chhattri)
36 ins. (92 cm.) long; hilt 5 1/8 ins. (13 cm.) long

Exhibited

Grand Palais, Paris 2017, pp.132-33, no.102
The Doge’s Palace, Venice 2017, pp.158-59, no.104
The Palace Museum, Beijing 2018, pp.182-83, no.108
de Young Legion of Honor, San Francisco 2018, p. 176, no. 70

Engraved

Qur’an LXI (al-Saff), part v.13, ‘help from God and near victory’

Brought to you by

Rahul Kadakia

rkadakia@christies.com +1 212 636 2300

Lot Essay

For a brief note on the rare decoration of this sword hilt and for a similarly decorated a dagger hilt and flywhisk handle in the sale, see lots 80 and 82. The single-edged curved watered-steel blade has a fuller on both sides just below the rear edge. Inlaid in gold with an Arabic inscription from the Qur’an, the blade also bears a gold parasol (chhatri) which is a symbol of imperial ownership (Beijing 2018, p.183).

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