Steel blade, the hilt, locket and chape decorated in various deity figures with polychrome enamels on blue enamelled ground, the spine with Shi'a avocations and prayers in gold on blue enamel, the tip of the pommel with a prayer and dated AH 1189. 

Exhibited: The Doge’s Palace, Venice 2017, p. 190, no. 127
The Palace Museum, Beijing 2018, pp. 214-245, no. 131

Note: The decoration on this dagger and scabbard displays a rare combination of Muslim prayers alongside images of Hindu deities. The inscriptions are derived from both the Qur’an as well as Shi’a sources. The figures of Indian gods and goddesses including the multi-armed goddess Durga, Vishnu seated under a five-headed serpent and the monkey god Hanuman illustrate an influence of eighteenth century North Indian painting from Kashmir and Pahari states (Beijing 2018, p.214).