Collection record · Objects & craft
Khanjar dagger
The collection record classifies this work as arms and armor. It is dated c. 1600s. Recorded culture or place: India.
Explore the object recordOBJECT RECORD
A closer look at the details.
- Museum title
- Khanjar dagger
- Date
- c. 1600s
- Culture / origin
- India
- Materials and technique
- Jade hilt with iron and gold; steel blade with iron and gold; wood sheath covered in velvet with metallic thread
- Dimensions
- Overall: 34.4 cm (13 9/16 in.)
- Artist / maker
- Not specified by the museum
- Museum
- The Cleveland Museum of Art
- Accession number
- 1930.708
FROM THE MUSEUM
In the museum’s words
The following description is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art’s original English record.
Daggers with curved blades, known as khanjar, were worn tucked into the belt as one of the basic accessories for Mughal men. An all-purpose knife that could be used in hunting or fighting, the khanjar was also a visible status symbol. The use of jade and gold indicates that this dagger was owned by a member of the court. The gold inscriptions on the blade, just under the hilt, are quotations from the Qur’an, the most sacred book for Muslims. On one side is the opening line: “In the Name of God the Merciful and the Compassionate,” and on the other is a popular verse from chapter (sura) 61: “Help comes from God, and Victory is imminent.”
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Text and image sources
The Cleveland Museum of Art · Gift of S. D. Wright · CC0
The summary is based on public collection data. Refer to the museum’s latest record for the title, date and attribution.
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