mughal dagger with royal provenance

Jens Nordlunde · 8th June 2005, 01:59 PM

It is an interesting knife BI is showing. To me the CR with the crown stands for Charles Rex. It could have been made in India, knowing who the coming owner would be, or it could have been made on arrival to England after Charles I got it. I think it is most likely that it was made in India – but who knows. The blade is old, it could very well be as old as the Jencks blade (early 1600), and it could be English, although I think it is Indian made. The hilt is strange, as I doubt that an Indian craftsman would mix agate and jade in this way, the two bands looks suspiciously too, as does the form of the hilt. If the ram’s head is as crisp as BI says, I think the hilt must have been broken and a new one made, using the rams head from the old hilt.

8th June 2005, 01:59 PM	#5
Jens Nordlunde Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Europe Posts: 2,718	It is an interesting knife BI is showing. To me the CR with the crown stands for Charles Rex. It could have been made in India, knowing who the coming owner would be, or it could have been made on arrival to England after Charles I got it. I think it is most likely that it was made in India – but who knows. The blade is old, it could very well be as old as the Jencks blade (early 1600), and it could be English, although I think it is Indian made. The hilt is strange, as I doubt that an Indian craftsman would mix agate and jade in this way, the two bands looks suspiciously too, as does the form of the hilt. If the ram’s head is as crisp as BI says, I think the hilt must have been broken and a new one made, using the rams head from the old hilt.