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Lot Essay
Few daggers better exemplify the complimentary and competing markers of masculinity in early modern India than the present example. Maned lions and horned rams, both common motifs, offer a masculinity rooted in the traditional martial arena of the hunt, but the peacock presents something no less important: cultural cachet and sophisticated beauty. The peacock, whose tail is likened to a sword belt in sayings attributed to Imam ‘Ali (Nahj al-Balāgha, tr. Yasin T. Al-Jabouri, Baghdad, 2013, p. 498), serves as a common motif on daggers, reflecting a seamless integration of martial and court cultural pursuits.
The present dagger is, in several respects, an heir to the artistic traditions of Lucknow. There, the enamelling art is deployed to great effect in the rendition of rustic scenes on arms and armour, often centred around the peacock as the primary motif, as, for example, on a sword from the court workshop (Wallace Collection, London, OA1398; Thom Richardson and Paula Turner (eds.), The Wallace Collection Catalogue of Arms & Armour from Asia, Africa and the Ottoman World, London, 2026, p.70). On the present dagger, the broader palette and a preference for opaque pigments over translucent ones suggest a Rajasthani origin, probably the famous enamelling centre of Jaipur.
The present dagger is, in several respects, an heir to the artistic traditions of Lucknow. There, the enamelling art is deployed to great effect in the rendition of rustic scenes on arms and armour, often centred around the peacock as the primary motif, as, for example, on a sword from the court workshop (Wallace Collection, London, OA1398; Thom Richardson and Paula Turner (eds.), The Wallace Collection Catalogue of Arms & Armour from Asia, Africa and the Ottoman World, London, 2026, p.70). On the present dagger, the broader palette and a preference for opaque pigments over translucent ones suggest a Rajasthani origin, probably the famous enamelling centre of Jaipur.