Antique Indo - Persian Islamic Mughal Indian Dagger Pesh Kabz

DETAILS: Superbly hand-forged, sturdy recurved still blade, the upper half with a “T” shape spine with a small notched decoration, the front half cut with two wide fullers with a strengthened central rib, while the rest of the edge is slightly elevated to create a re-enforced point tip designed to penetrate chain mail and other types of protective armor.

The large beak-shaped grip is mounted on the top and the bottom with four pale green Nephrite Jade scales and two jasper stone scales in the middle, and enclosed with brass ferrule and straps surmounted by the small shaped iron finial to thread a silk suspension cord , which wrapped around the wrist to prevent loss in combat.

MEASUREMENTS: Overall length: 34 cm (13.39 inches).

CONDITION: Showing signs of use and wear, slightly pitted, one of the jade scales on the pommel is slightly chipped.

REFERENCES: A similar dagger from the collection of The State Museum of Oriental Art Moscow is published in the book " Mortal Beauty. Arms and Armour of India and China. Exhibition catalogue. Moscow: The State Museum of Oriental Art. Page.140. No.6.

The buyer will be provided with a copy of the pages from the mentioned references, together with a certificate of authenticity. Pesh Kabz means ‘fore grip’ in Persian, a language from Iran where this dagger style finds its origins. It was soon used in Afghanistan and then in India after being introduced there by the Mughals. The Pesh Kabz became popular in the 17th century when the pointed tip was designed to penetrate chainmail and other protective armor.