Lot Essay
The enamel on this remarkable dagger relates that on two other silver objects: a pandan and a spherical huqqa (Zebrowski, Mark: Gold, Silver and Bronze from Mughal India, London, 1997, pls.85 and 86, pp.92-3). All three use an identical palette of colours, with the floral motifs standing out against the dark green ground. A well-known gold covered jar in the Cleveland Museum of Art has a very similar feel to the enamelling, especially of the flowers around the mouth, although the colours used are limited to white and translucent yellow. It is dated to circa 1700 (Zebrowski: op. cit., no.29, p.52). The place of manufacture is not known either for the silver or gold items, although Zebrowski points out the similarity of colouring on the Cleveland jar with that of tilework of a shrine at Mehrauli, south of Delhi which was refurbished by Shah Jehan and Aurangzeb (op,.cit., p.59).