Agate Hilted Kard
Full Description:
A 19th century kard dagger from Rajasthan, India. The hilt is carved from a single piece of luscious toffee-like agate which, in certain conditions, is translucent enough to be able to see an extended tang from the dagger blade which runs almost the entire length of the hilt.
The blade is forged from high quality wootz steel and displays a vibrant, grey-blue, water-like pattern. The heel of the blade and the bolster is richly decorated with gold koftgari, in a style indicative of swords and daggers that were being produced in certain workshops in Rajasthan in the 19th century.
The knife is undeniably ‘Indian’ but the wootz steel looks very Persian. An Indian dagger[1] sold by us in 2018 was made by a Persian smith named Muhammad Ibrahim, who was working in Alwar (Rajasthan) in the second half of the 19th century. It shares some characteristics with the dagger shown here, particularly the quality of the wootz and the rich gold koftgari. A sword[2] in the Royal Collection Trust, also made by Ibrahim, displays the same hallmarks. A third example, a dagger,[3] sold by us in 2019, had no markings, much like the one being offered here, which has all the hallmarks of a Persian production in Rajasthan.