NDLI: Dagger

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Dagger

Content Provider	Indian Culture
Organization	Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, Mumbai
Temporal Coverage	17th century AD
Description	Historical Significance :- This is a typical Indian push dagger known as the Jamdhar. Its peculiarity lies in the H-shaped handle which is made of two parallel bars connected by two or more cross pieces. It was used as a thrusting weapon and was both a weapon of war as well as of self-defense. It was popular in 16th-17th century A.D. as evidenced by the miniature paintings of this period. The word Jamdhar is also mentioned in the Ain-i-Akbari. Cultural Significance :- The etymology of the word as given by J. Shakespear, 1790, is jam, from the Sanskrit yam, which means death, and dhar, which means a sharp edge. Thus it seems that the weapon is native to India. Interestingly, the British at first couldn’t understand as to why Indian soldiers wore heavy armours, given the hot climate of the country and the vast distances that they had to travel. What they didn’t know was that it was only a heavy armour that could protect the Indian soldiers from the strike of the jamdhar. Another point to note is that to do the work of Koftagiri for the decoration of the dagger, metal workers (Lohars), polishers (Sikligars) and silver or goldsmiths (Sonis) worked together. Artistic Significance :- The blade of a jamdhar is very thick with two cutting edges and a solid point. It is also very stiff so that it doesn’t bend. A strike made with this can only be stopped by the heavy armour of steel or the cuirass. The typical handle is made of two parallel bars which are connected by a roundish crosspiece to give a good grip over the dagger. The handle is beautifully decorated with koftgari in gold. This is the art of gold and silver wire inlay on iron objects. The technique involves encrusting one metal onto another. The surface of the metal is first roughened, and then it is heated and allowed to cool down. Silver and gold wires are inlaid into the metal and the surface is flattened with a moonstone. The designs consist of floral and shikargah motifs. It depicts scenes of elephant fights, tiger killing a deer, tiger attacking an elephant, a horse rider is chasing a wild boar. Conventional trees and creepers are interspersed indicating the forest environment. This particular dagger has the design of an elephant and a human figure. Sytle :- Mughal
File Format	JPG / JPEG
Language	English
Publisher	Sir Ratan Tata Collection
Access Restriction	Open
Subject Keyword	Mughal Empire Miniature Painting Push Dagger Jamdhar
Content Type	Image
Resource Type	Photograph

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