QAJAR IRAN, DATED AH 13[0]9⁄1891-92 AD

Although daggers with a double-edged straight blade as seen here, often referred to as a kinjal or qama in secondary literature, are typically associated with the Caucasus, examples made elsewhere also survive. For instance, a qama-style dagger inscribed bukhara-yi sharif ‘Noble Bukhara’ can be attributed to Bukhara circa 1890s (Dmitry Miloserdov, “‘Qama’ Dagger with Diamonds from a Private Collection,” Objet.art, 4 August 2025, accessed 22 Feb 2026). Undoubtedly, the distinctive form evoked both the martial traditions and exceptional craftsmanship of historic swordsmithing centres like Kubachi and Tbilisi.

Here, the typically Caucasian form is combined with fields of inlaid turquoises to create a dagger that is a synthesis of Caucasian and Central Asian visual traditions. The use of the name of Nasir al-Din Shah Qajar (r.1848-96) on the blade - itself not an unusual feature of arms and armour of the period (see for instance the Wallace Collection, London, OA2279, Thom Richardson and Paula Turner (eds.), The Wallace Collection Catalogue of Arms & Armour from Asia, Africa and the Ottoman World, London, 2026, p.234; and Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1977.162.1, David Alexander, Stuart W. Pyhrr, Will Kwiatkowski, Islamic Arms and Armor in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2015, pp.180-1, no.68) - suggests it was made within Qajar Iran.