A Mughal diamond and ruby-set jade-hilted push dagger (katar) and enamelled-gold mounted scabbard, India, circa A.D.1700

the narrow double-edged blade of watered steel, with a swollen armour-piercing tip and recesses running from the centre of the blade, the hilt of pale green jade with a double grip and integral forte, the latter with a gold-inlaid floral design on both sides, the hilt decorated with gold-mounted gem-set quatrefoil motifs regularly disposed around the surfaces, the upper and lower edges with gold-mounted gem-set circles, the cloth-covered wood scabbard mounted with gold chape and locket decorated in translucent red and green enamel on an opaque white enamel ground with en suite quatrefoil motifs

This magnificent katar is one of the finest and grandest examples of this form of weaponry, a form unique to the Indian sub-continent. The decoration of the dagger elegantly combines the delicate skills of the lapidary with the refined art of the enameller. These two traditions found their apotheosis in India under the seventeenth-century patronage of the Mughal court. In this dagger and scabbard they are applied with accomplished dexterity and artistic sensitivity to achieve a symbol of wealth, power and grandeur appropriate for an object made to adorn the dress of a Mughal courtier.

The overall condition of the piece is remarkable and, whereas other examples have succumbed to the ravages of existence that the fragility of the form and delicacy of decoration make almost inevitable over time, the original state of this dagger is largely preserved.

Another example of a jade-hilted katar is in the al-Sabah Collection, Kuwait (Keene 2001, p.36, no.2.15).