A DRAGON-HANDLE STEEL CRUTCH DAGGER (ZAFAR TAKIYEH)
Iran or India, 18th century

Of typical shape, the armrest with a flat centre and curved dragon heads to the sides, the forte designed with square section, the sheath cylindrical and reinforced at the end, a lock to its side concealing a sharp stiletto blade inside the sheath, 60.5cm high.

The armrest of this crutch dagger, also known as divan crutch, is reminiscent in shape and design to Eastern Christian bishops' croziers, particularly the pastoral staves (pateritsa, pateritsai) used by the Armenian communities of the East, living in the territories of Anatolia, Ottoman Provinces and Iran. The Eastern pastoral staves' armrests differ in design from the croziers used by Western bishops, which tend to have curved or hooked tops. They normally come either tau-shaped (T) with arms curving down, surmounted by a small cross or composed of a pair of intertwined serpents or dragons normally facing each other, with a small cross between them, representing the bishop's diligence in guarding his flock (Brigitte Pitarakis and Christos Merantzas, A Treasured Memory: Ecclesiastical Silver from Late Ottoman Istanbul in the Sevgi Gönül Collection, Turkey, 2006, p. 80). It is likely to believe that Armenian pastoral staves have inspired Iranian and Indian steel crutches such as ours, especially during the Safavid period, and that the design carried on flourishing and being in use in both countries from the 17th century until the late 19th - early 20th century. The 19th-century models tend to come mostly from India and present a screwed-in mechanism just below the forte to conceal the stiletto blade within their sheaths, departing from the lock-in mechanism of our lot. For further comparisons, please see the crutch dagger at the MET in New York (inv. no. 36.25.1091a,b) and at the Science Museum in London (inv. no. A196265).