Khanjar Drawing

[Cristoforo Kanoy]

Thesheep's head pommel of this dagger is extremely distinctive and rare. The great majority of Indian and Persian khanjar daggers have smooth hilts and rounded pommels. While there are also many examples with zoomorphic pommels, the majority take the form of a horse's head, or, occasionally, a lion's head. In addition, the animal elements of most zoomorphic khanjar hilts are rendered in a very refined, delicate, and stylized manner. In contrast to this, the carving of the sheep's head on this dagger is done in a very lively, naturalistic, and animated style, giving the hilt an immediate visual appeal as a piece of sculpture. The hilt is marble, which is also unusual, most khanjar daggers having jade hilts. The blade is gently recurved, with a raised medial ridge and a thickened tip that is a flattened lozenge in cross-section.

There are many uses of the khanjar. It is a symbolic weapon, worn by men after puberty. Nowadays, it is used as a type of formal dress item and for stylistic purposes. Drawing the khanjar from its sheath was a social taboo before the 1970s, and men would only do that if they sought revenge or assassination.[citation needed]

Khanjar (خنجر) is the Persian word for a double-edged dagger, and can refer to one of several varieties.1 The word was also used as such in areas under strong Persian influence, such as Ottoman Turkey and North India. In Oman, the jambiya (Arab word for dagger) is referred to as khanjar as well.

The typical Persian example has an I-shaped hilt, no separate guard, and a curved blade. Early blades tend to have a moderate curve, while some later examples can have a sharp bend in the blade's profile.

The blade is usually made of (crucible) steel. The scabbard is usually wood covered with leather, but scabbards covered with velvet, brocade, silver, gold, or steel are also encountered. Hilts are often made of walrus tusk, horn, but can also be of stone like jade, or metal like silver or steel.2 Very ornate enameled khanjar were also produced.

Known production centers of high-quality khanjar were mainly Isfahan and Shiraz. A khanjar in the Freer Gallery, accession number 1939-44a-b, carries an inscription stating it was made in Shiraz in 1777 AD.3

The word khanjar is already present in the epic Shahnameh of the 10th century A.D. The oldest khanjar that was found is believed to date from around 1410.4 The Henry Moser-Charlottenfels collection contained three dated khanjar, ranging from 1573 to 1810.5

The earliest dated of this group carries markings on the blade with the date. The distinct hilt is of a style also seen in 16th-century miniatures, which makes it likely it was produced at the same time as the blade. Unfortunately, no complete view of the blade has been published.

The Moser collection also holds another, dated khanjar. This time the date 1118 hijri (1706 AD) is on the mounts, together with a name, "Wali". The style is somewhat unusual, tending towards European baroque.

Another dated khanjar is in the Aga Khan museum. It carries an inscription by its maker, Faizallah Shushtari Isfahani. While this dagger is not dated, we know other works signed by the same maker that range from 1707 - 1733 AD.6 He was quite a versatile maker, producing maces, vambraces, even wootz steel ewers and other non-weapons. Some of these items were commissioned by Shah Sultan Husain for the Imam Reza shrine. This dagger comes with Ottoman mounts, suggesting it was perhaps presented to an Ottoman dignitary.

A dagger in the private collection of Dmitry Miloserdov is signed as being made by Mohammad Haadi 1214 hijri , which corresponds to 1799-1800 AD. The owner kindly gave permission to use his photos in this article.

What becomes immediately apparent is the deep curve of the blade, which seems to have originated in the second half of the 18th century, and was to become a very popular 19th-century Persian dagger design. This is not to say all daggers became this curved; the older, straighter style also remained in production.

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