blade of gold-damascened steel with pearls; hilt of lapis lazuli and gilt silver; sheath of leather-covered wood with silver mounts
36cm (length, dagger); 26.5cm (sheath)
The steel blade, with armour-piercing tip, is slightly curved and is slit along its length. It is datable by its superb gold damascening to circa 1540–50. The panel below the hilt bears three freely moving seed pearls. Blades of this high quality reached 16th-century Western Europe as diplomatic gifts.
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