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Lot Essay
Elbow crutches known as zafar takiya (lit. “The Cushion of Victory”; jaya takiya in Hindi) were of great importance in the practices of religious mysticism and projection of court status and power in India. This is one of the earliest surviving fine examples.
Most of the crutches of this type to survive are designed as a blade concealed in a footed scabbard (see, for example, Thom Richardson and Paula Turner (eds.), The Wallace Collection: Catalogue of Arms & Armour from Asia, Africa and the Ottoman World, London, 2026, p.116). Used for princes to rest on during audiences, they functioned as a precaution against any surprise. As noted by the Russian artist Aloïs Gustave Rockstühl travelling in India from 1835-53, “This kind of short sword is placed at the corner of the divan by the Indian rajahs as a precaution against a surprise, and when they are half lying down, the arm rests upon the handle” (quoted in Lord Egerton of Tatton, An Illustrated Handbook of Indian Arms, London, 1880, p.109).
Standing courtiers are also seen with them in hand, as in a durbar painting from the Padshahnama, of ca.1635-50 depicting Jahangir receiving Shah Jahan (now in the Royal Collection Trust, RCIN 1005025.an, fol.195r). These crutches even spread to Ottoman Turkey, with one 18-19th century example previously with Amir Mohtashemi having inscribed on its blade, “Do not make an attempt on [the owner's] life, do not come close! The enemy is merciless, protect yourself!”
Our crutch, however, is an example of a devotional crutch without a blade. These were used by holy men to rest their arms during long vigils, and their importance is attested by their common appearance on saintly portraits, together with other key emblems of devotional practice (Murad Khan Mumtaz, Faces of God: Images of Devotion in Indo-Muslim Painting, 1500–1800, Leiden, 2023, pp.42-43). They are seen in particular on depictions from around the 1640s with an artitic shift towards portraiture of living saints. This was fostered under the patronage of Prince Dara Shikoh (d. 1659) and Princess Jahanara Begum (d. 1681), children of Emperor Shah Jahan, both followers of the Qadiri Sufi order (Mumtaz, op.cit., pp.247-72).
Crutches were of crucial importance in the iconography of the spiritual guide and leader of the Qadiri order, Mulla Shah Badakhshi (1582-1661), figuring prominently in at least three portraits- in the Museum of Fine Arts Boston (14.664) dated circa 1639; in the British Museum (1949,0212,0.5) dated circa 1645; and in the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution (LTS2002.2.4) dated circa 1655. A striped design is seen on the shaft of all three crutches, with the handle and proportions of the former being most similar to ours. The crutches are prominently placed in front of Mulla Shah together with leather-bound books, a rosary, and pen-holder, collectively symbolising the devotional and intellectual vitality of the shaykh. A portrait from the first half of the 17th century probably depicting Mulla Shah's teacher, Miyan Mir (d. 1635) with a gold crutch in front of him, was sold in these Rooms, 26 October 2023, lot 17.
Less ornate meditation crutches known as faqir takiya (“The Cushion of the Poor”) are seen on other contemporaneous paintings (see, for example, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 30.95.174.2 and Los Angeles County Museum of Art, M.84.228.2). Such examples started to appear in Indian painting during the first half of the 16th century, depicting yogis resting on them during meditation (Mumtaz, op.cit., fig.24). However, their origins do not appear to be Iranian or pre-Mughal Indian, but Chinese, possibly sharing a common lineage with the Daoist Eight Immortals since the Yuan period (1279-1368). Similar to Indian holy men, they practised mental and physical purity, dressed scantly, and dwelled in mountain caves or rocky hermitages using similar meditation crutches, as seen on 16th century depictions (Salam Kaoukji, Precious Indian Weapons and Other Princely Accoutrements, London, 2017, p.333).
The al-Sabah Collection holds a smaller but similarly elegant contemporaneous Mughal crutch (LNS 286 M; Manuel Keene and Salam Kaoukji, Treasury of the World: Jewelled Arts of India in the Age of the Mughals, London, 2001, no.6.42, p.80), together with a later Deccani example slightly smaller than ours (Kaoukji, op.cit., 2017, cat.125). A contemporaneous zoomorphic jade elbow crutch was also sold in as part of the sale of Maharajas and Mughal Magnificience sale Christie's, New York, 19 June 2019, lot 117.
Most of the crutches of this type to survive are designed as a blade concealed in a footed scabbard (see, for example, Thom Richardson and Paula Turner (eds.), The Wallace Collection: Catalogue of Arms & Armour from Asia, Africa and the Ottoman World, London, 2026, p.116). Used for princes to rest on during audiences, they functioned as a precaution against any surprise. As noted by the Russian artist Aloïs Gustave Rockstühl travelling in India from 1835-53, “This kind of short sword is placed at the corner of the divan by the Indian rajahs as a precaution against a surprise, and when they are half lying down, the arm rests upon the handle” (quoted in Lord Egerton of Tatton, An Illustrated Handbook of Indian Arms, London, 1880, p.109).
Standing courtiers are also seen with them in hand, as in a durbar painting from the Padshahnama, of ca.1635-50 depicting Jahangir receiving Shah Jahan (now in the Royal Collection Trust, RCIN 1005025.an, fol.195r). These crutches even spread to Ottoman Turkey, with one 18-19th century example previously with Amir Mohtashemi having inscribed on its blade, “Do not make an attempt on [the owner's] life, do not come close! The enemy is merciless, protect yourself!”
Our crutch, however, is an example of a devotional crutch without a blade. These were used by holy men to rest their arms during long vigils, and their importance is attested by their common appearance on saintly portraits, together with other key emblems of devotional practice (Murad Khan Mumtaz, Faces of God: Images of Devotion in Indo-Muslim Painting, 1500–1800, Leiden, 2023, pp.42-43). They are seen in particular on depictions from around the 1640s with an artitic shift towards portraiture of living saints. This was fostered under the patronage of Prince Dara Shikoh (d. 1659) and Princess Jahanara Begum (d. 1681), children of Emperor Shah Jahan, both followers of the Qadiri Sufi order (Mumtaz, op.cit., pp.247-72).
Crutches were of crucial importance in the iconography of the spiritual guide and leader of the Qadiri order, Mulla Shah Badakhshi (1582-1661), figuring prominently in at least three portraits- in the Museum of Fine Arts Boston (14.664) dated circa 1639; in the British Museum (1949,0212,0.5) dated circa 1645; and in the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution (LTS2002.2.4) dated circa 1655. A striped design is seen on the shaft of all three crutches, with the handle and proportions of the former being most similar to ours. The crutches are prominently placed in front of Mulla Shah together with leather-bound books, a rosary, and pen-holder, collectively symbolising the devotional and intellectual vitality of the shaykh. A portrait from the first half of the 17th century probably depicting Mulla Shah's teacher, Miyan Mir (d. 1635) with a gold crutch in front of him, was sold in these Rooms, 26 October 2023, lot 17.
Less ornate meditation crutches known as faqir takiya (“The Cushion of the Poor”) are seen on other contemporaneous paintings (see, for example, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 30.95.174.2 and Los Angeles County Museum of Art, M.84.228.2). Such examples started to appear in Indian painting during the first half of the 16th century, depicting yogis resting on them during meditation (Mumtaz, op.cit., fig.24). However, their origins do not appear to be Iranian or pre-Mughal Indian, but Chinese, possibly sharing a common lineage with the Daoist Eight Immortals since the Yuan period (1279-1368). Similar to Indian holy men, they practised mental and physical purity, dressed scantly, and dwelled in mountain caves or rocky hermitages using similar meditation crutches, as seen on 16th century depictions (Salam Kaoukji, Precious Indian Weapons and Other Princely Accoutrements, London, 2017, p.333).
The al-Sabah Collection holds a smaller but similarly elegant contemporaneous Mughal crutch (LNS 286 M; Manuel Keene and Salam Kaoukji, Treasury of the World: Jewelled Arts of India in the Age of the Mughals, London, 2001, no.6.42, p.80), together with a later Deccani example slightly smaller than ours (Kaoukji, op.cit., 2017, cat.125). A contemporaneous zoomorphic jade elbow crutch was also sold in as part of the sale of Maharajas and Mughal Magnificience sale Christie's, New York, 19 June 2019, lot 117.