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| Shah Jahan's Jade-hilted dragger wbur.org/npr |
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| Shah Jahan's Jade-hilted dragger robbreport.com |
Above image: Jade-hilted dragger owned by Shah Jahan:1620-1630, With carved jade hilt and watered-steel blade.11 5/8 ins. (29.7 cm.) long; hilt 4 3/8 ins. (11.1 cm.) long.
''The jade stone that was used for the hilt would have come from Kashgar in present-day Xinjiang, western China; the trade that brought the jade to the Mughal court is well documented. the nasta'liq script in which the short inscription is written, are, both stylistically and technically, imports from the Iranian world, part of the substantial artistic input from there to India in the early Mughal period.The carved jade head represents the European contribution, both in its three-dimensional carving, which is thought to have been influenced by and also in the subject matter itself. It has been suggested that it was either created by or else heavily influenced by the work of European lapidaries working at the Mughal court. What is certain is that the subject is of European origin''.
https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-6212124..................
Christie’s Maharajas & Mughal Magnificence collection held on19 June 2019 in New York achieved more than the company expected. A whopping $109.2 million at auction swapped with in a few hours over the most valued items in history- among the 400 royal artefacts including Rajmatha of Jaipur Maharani Gayatri Devi's rare string of pears, Arcot diamonds, Nizams jewelry pieces etc. It was well attended because the auction was widely published in all media. It broke some records three new records for Indian works of art, as well as the second highest auction total for a private jewelry collection. t's the second highest total for a private jewelry collection.
On display for the highly pitched auction were many noteworthy items steeped in history. Among the items up for auction was a rare one from the Mogul period. It was the sale of a 17th-century jade hilted and dagger (with gold inlay) previously owned by none other than Mogul emperor Shah Jahan, the man who had built the Taj Mahal marble Mausoleum for his wife Mumtaz Mahal and who in the later years, was imprisoned by his greedy and tyrannical son Aurangzeb who killed his own brother to ascend the throne. Besides, he put Shah Jahan in a prison from which he could daily see the Taj which he had built. The jade -hilted dagger fetched $3.3 million. Apart from interest in constructing embellished buildings, the famous Mogul ruler had a flair for improvised and innovative items - exquisite steel, encrusted jewelry, etc. The meticulously carved visage of what scholars believe to be a European man graces the hilt, and calligraphic, nasta’liq script circles the base of the blade.
The fifth Mughal emperor's dagger features scrolling designs inlaid in gold at the top of the blade, and an inscription in ‘Nasta’liq’ script with a title the monarch had taken.
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