A MUGHAL GEM-SET JADE-HILTED PISTOL GRIP KHANJAR DAGGER
The hilt Northern India, late 17th - 18th century; the blade possibly Iran or Central Asia, dated 1119 AH (1707 AD)

With a double-edged wootz steel blade, with recessed fuller inlaid in gold with a dedicatory inscription in naskh on one side and the date on the latter, tapering to a pronounced point, the inscriptions on the blade and forte featuring both Qur’anic verses and imperial honorifics, possible later additions, the pistol grip hilt carved from pale celadon-green nephrite jade, lavishly encrusted with gems in typical Mughal gold kundan settings, including cabochon rubies and emeralds, arranged in foliate and floral patterns, vegetal meanders on the quillon and a lobed rosette medallion in the middle of the pommel.

40cm long

Inscriptions include:

• “Nasr min Allāh wa fatḥun qarīb” (on the forte)
  (نصر من الله و فتح قريب)
  – “Victory from God and a near triumph” – Qur’an 61:13, traditionally inscribed on weapons to invoke divine support.
• “Al-... Akbar, jalla jalāluh” (on the forte)
  (ال ..اكبر جل جلاله)
  – “The Great ..., Glorious is His Majesty,” an honorific likely referring to a Sultan, emphasizing imperial grandeur.
• A longer inscription in Arabic naskh script divided on two lines on one side of the blade, stating that this dagger was a humble gift from Seyyed Muhammad Ghazi Khan, the Amir (governor) of Bukhara, to the Greatest Ally, the Caliph, the Sultan Hamid I Khan.
• The reverse of the blade dated with the Islamic year 1119 AH, corresponding to 1707–08 CE, etched in gold near the base of the blade.

Daggers of this type were not intended for combat but served as symbols of courtly prestige, diplomatic gifts, or royal regalia. The blade and the hilt seem a likely 19th or 20th-century marriage, and the inscriptions on the blade may have been added at a later stage, since neither Abdul Hamid I nor Muhammad Ghazi Khan were ruling in 1707. Moreover, there is no documentary evidence or reference to a Bukharan Amir named Muhammad Ghazi Khan, only Abu'l-Ghazi Khan. This Amir ruled Bukhara from 1758 until 1785, around the time of the 27th Ottoman Sultan, Abdul Hamid I (21 January 1774 – 7 April 1789). Regardless of the authenticity of the inscriptions on the blade, it is credible the hilt, perhaps with a different blade, would have once belonged to a high-rank, possibly royal owner. In fact, the craftsmanship and overall opulence of the encrusted nephrite jade hilt suggest a production within imperial workshops in Northern India.