Search engine for discovering works of Art, research articles, and books related to Art and Culture
ShareThis
Javascript must be enabled to continue!

Dagger Blade, Etched with Arabesques and Arabic

View through Harvard Museums
This dagger blade is etched with an intricate vegetal scroll motif and inscribed in Arabic with a verse from the Qur'an: “And what is my prosperity save through God?” (Qur'an 11:88). Furthermore, a name or a nisba appears close to the handle “Shah Wilayat the slave (follower) of Husayn Sultan” (bandah shah wilayat Husayn sultan), and may be linked to the Safavid ruler Shah Sultan-Husayn (r. 1694-1722). Similar inscriptions appear on earlier Safavid seals (see Encyclopedia of Islam “khatam”).
Department of Islamic & Later Indian Art Stuart Cary Welch Jr. Warner New Hampshire (by 1999-2008) by inheritance; to Edith I. Welch Warner New Hampshire (2008-2011) gift; to Harvard Art Museums 2011. Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum The Stuart Cary Welch Collection Gift of Edith I. Welch in memory of Stuart Cary Welch
image-zoom
Title: Dagger Blade, Etched with Arabesques and Arabic
Description:
This dagger blade is etched with an intricate vegetal scroll motif and inscribed in Arabic with a verse from the Qur'an: “And what is my prosperity save through God?” (Qur'an 11:88).
Furthermore, a name or a nisba appears close to the handle “Shah Wilayat the slave (follower) of Husayn Sultan” (bandah shah wilayat Husayn sultan), and may be linked to the Safavid ruler Shah Sultan-Husayn (r.
1694-1722).
Similar inscriptions appear on earlier Safavid seals (see Encyclopedia of Islam “khatam”).

Back to Top