Lot Essay
A rare feature of this sword hilt is the quillon which is cast in one piece with the hilt sleeve. A similar arrangement is found on a Mamluk sabre of the second half of the 15th century where the quillon, faceted handel and pommel are cast in one piece. This piece also comprises dragon head terminals, pierced in a fashion like ours to differentiate the dragon's lip (Ünsal, Yücel: Al-suyuf al-islamiyya (Islamic Swords), Kuwait, 1988, p.77, no.55). Another quillon with chased floral decoration and dragon heads similar to ours belongs to a sword of the Mamluk sultan Qansuh al-Ghuri (1501-1516) (Ünsal, Yücel: op.cit., p.89, no.70).
The decoration on our hilt consists of silver and gold damascening on the dragon heads and the sleeve. The latter is decorated with intertwined floral scrolls characteristic of the Ilkhanid artistic repertoire.
Paired dragon heads, such as on our sword hilt are ultimately astronomical in origin. Also known by the name jawzahr they represented the lunar eclipse in mediaeval Islamic iconography and appear frequently on objects decorated with astrological symbols. An example is the "Vaso Vescovali" in the British Museum (Ward, R.: Islamic Metalwork, London, 1993, p.79, no.57). Other occurrences of paired dragon heads are in the architecture of Northern Mesopotamia, particularly on the "Talisman Gate" in Baghdad during the early 13th century.
The subject of dragon heads however continued under Mongols and it is here where we find it connected with arms and armour. In the absence of extant objects the most important of all Mongol manuscripts, the Jami' al-Tawarikh of Rashid al-Din (written between 1307-1314) provides a number of comparisons (Rice, D.T.: The Illustrations to the 'World History' of Rashid al-Din, Edinburgh, 1976). There are a variety of lances with stylised dragon head terminals (Rice, D.T., op.cit, p.48-49, no.5 and pp.54-55, no.8). A very close comparison to the dragon heads of our sword hilt is provided by a dragon headed rod, the upper and lower lips of which are incurled as in our piece (Rice, D.T., op.cit., pp.62-63, no.12).
While paired dragon heads continue to be used under the Timurids in Iran, the scroll decoration on our piece would make an attribution to the Ilkhanid period very likely.
The decoration on our hilt consists of silver and gold damascening on the dragon heads and the sleeve. The latter is decorated with intertwined floral scrolls characteristic of the Ilkhanid artistic repertoire.
Paired dragon heads, such as on our sword hilt are ultimately astronomical in origin. Also known by the name jawzahr they represented the lunar eclipse in mediaeval Islamic iconography and appear frequently on objects decorated with astrological symbols. An example is the "Vaso Vescovali" in the British Museum (Ward, R.: Islamic Metalwork, London, 1993, p.79, no.57). Other occurrences of paired dragon heads are in the architecture of Northern Mesopotamia, particularly on the "Talisman Gate" in Baghdad during the early 13th century.
The subject of dragon heads however continued under Mongols and it is here where we find it connected with arms and armour. In the absence of extant objects the most important of all Mongol manuscripts, the Jami' al-Tawarikh of Rashid al-Din (written between 1307-1314) provides a number of comparisons (Rice, D.T.: The Illustrations to the 'World History' of Rashid al-Din, Edinburgh, 1976). There are a variety of lances with stylised dragon head terminals (Rice, D.T., op.cit, p.48-49, no.5 and pp.54-55, no.8). A very close comparison to the dragon heads of our sword hilt is provided by a dragon headed rod, the upper and lower lips of which are incurled as in our piece (Rice, D.T., op.cit., pp.62-63, no.12).
While paired dragon heads continue to be used under the Timurids in Iran, the scroll decoration on our piece would make an attribution to the Ilkhanid period very likely.