Very Fine and scarce Kattar Dagger with Chiseled Blade

The Kattar push dagger is one of the most common and known blades of the Indian arsenal. It comes in endless number of sizes, shapes, styles, decoration and quality. It is probably coming from the Deccan 15 C.  and spread all over the subcontinent, produced well into the 20C.

The kattar offered here is 19 C. Probably from North India, Rajasthan or Punjab. Massive blade forged from crucible steel (Wootz) in the pattern known as crystalline, a familiar pattern.   As common with similar kattars only the central part of the blade is etched to reveal the steel pattern as where the edges are left highly polished. The wide shallow fuller is deeply chiseled with hunting scenes: A hunter on an elephant is challenging a tiger on one face of the blade and a tiger attacking an antelope on the other face. The chiseled animals are richly inlaid with gold koftgari work.  The blade tip is thickened to allow armor piercing. The side bars and the cross bars are richly decorated with gold koftgari work in dense floral pattern.

Blade is 9 1/2 inches (24 cm) long. Total length 18 inches (46 cm). Very good condition. Minor losses to the gold inlay decoration. A very fine dagger. Mid 19 C.

A Kattar with similar hunting scenes and gold work in the Jaipur collection. See Robert Elgood: ARMS AND ARMOR IN THE JAIPUR COURT Page 97, item 70

Price: On request