Dagger with Tiger-Head Pommel

This dagger has a plain, double-edged steel blade and an exquisitely decorated hilt. The cross guard is inlaid with quartz gemstones and displays the heads of two blue, tusked elephants. A cerise-colored enameled handle separates the cross guard from the golden tiger’s head pommel, which is adorned with additional jewels arranged in floral and foliate patterns. The process for creating this haft, known as kundan, entails using soft gold for setting and polychrome enameling. Richly embellished daggers like this one would have been worn tucked into the waist sash of a prominent individual.