Dagger (Bichuwa)
This intricately crafted dagger is among the best examples of ornamental steel chiseling from southeastern India, an area renowned for this kind of metalwork. It may belong to a group of ornately decorated weapons that was preserved in the palace armory of Tanjore (present-day Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu) until the 1850s. The dagger is particularly noteworthy for the fineness of its workmanship, including complete figures in the round, and for retaining areas of original gilding, which is entirely missing on most surviving pieces of this type.
Artwork Details
- Title: Dagger (Bichuwa)
- Date: 17th century
- Geography: Thanjavur, Tamil Nādu
- Culture: Indian, Thanjavur
- Medium: Steel, gold
- Dimensions: L. 8 1/8 in. (20.6 cm)
- Classification: Daggers
- Credit Line: Purchase, Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Gift, 2014
- Object Number: 2014.190
- Curatorial Department: Arms and Armor
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Indian, Mughal
1605–27
Indian, Mughal
17th century
Hilt, Indian, Mughal; blade, Turkish or Indian
late 17th century
hilt, possibly India; blade, possibly European
possibly 1790
Indian
second half of the 17th century
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