A SILVER-INLAID LION-HEADED STEEL DAGGER (KHANJAR)
Northern India, 19th century

With a tapering and slightly curved single-edged watered wootz steel blade with typical wavy pattern, the forte with a thick medial tang and enhanced with silver-inlaid engraved plaques in the shape of cusped spandrels with foliage and rosette sprays, the curved silver handle ending in a lion head with open fangs, finely engraved with scrolling vegetal and rosette trellis on the body and naturalistic details on the head including mane hairs, whiskers and muscular tension wrinkles around the fangs, the eyes and ears encrusted with emerald and spinel beads (reacting under UV-light), with a steel scabbard also inlaid with silver floral sprays at the top and bottom, and foliage along the sides, 30.5cm long including the scabbard.