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Dagger (Katar) and Sheath

Date:
17th century
Culture:
Indian, Mughal
Medium:
Steel, leather, gold
Dimensions:
L. 19 in. (48.26 cm)
Classification:
Daggers
Credit Line:
Bequest of George C. Stone, 1935
Accession Number:
36.25.973a, b
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 379
Daggers of this type, called katars, were designed to be held by the cross bars in a clenched fist. This is one of the few that retains its embossed leather scabbard. Elaborately decorated examples worn thrust through a waist sash, can be seen in many Indian paintings of this period.
[William Ockelford Oldman, London, before 1935; sold to Stone]; George Cameron Stone, New York (by 1934–d. November 18, 1935; his bequest to MMA).
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Bright Side of the Battle: Symbol and Ceremony in Islamic Arms and Armor," January 17–September 1, 1985.

Stone, George Cameron. A Glossary of the Construction, Decoration and Use of Arms and Armor in All Countries and in All Times, Together with Some Closely Related Subjects. Portland, Maine: Southworth Press, 1934. fig. 434, no.3, ill.

Alexander, David, Stuart W. Pyhrr, and Will Kwiatkowski. Islamic Arms and Armor in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2015. pp. 217-218, fig. 35 (this type of dagger shown), no. 86, ill.

Timelines
South Asia, 1600-1800 A.D.

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