# Persian Bukhara Turquoise Inlaid Pesh Kabz Dagger

Price on request · Region: Middle East, Ottoman Turkey, Persia · Type: Daggers

**Now sold and published on the cover of Miloserdov, D. (2024)._Arms and Armor of the Khanates Central Asia (Bukhara, Kokhand, Khiva) of the late 18th-early 20th centuries. Volume II_.**

An exceptional quality dagger from Central Asia, now Uzbekistan, but originating in the Emirate of Bukhara in the early to mid 19th century.

The arms and armor of Bukhara are distinct for the types of decoration applied to well known forms. Often reflecting deep Persianate and Mughal influence, the forms of the weapons included the classic kard dagger and this interpretation of a north Indian pesh kabz, called a karud.

Torben Flindt writes of Bukharan decoration as:

 _"The wedding of silver and turquoise was very much a symbol of Bukharan work though the practice was not confined to Bukhara or the Central Asian khanates. A local technique using turquoise  is known as turquoise-cloisonne or sometimes Bukharan cloisonne. Irregular turquoise or turquoise chosen for their rough conformation to a given shape - for example triangular or square - were bedded on a silver surface with thin walls of silver separating the closely packed stones. The surface was then ground until smooth, the finished result closely resembling true cloisonne."_

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This dagger displays this classic Bukharan technique and remains in superb condition. The turquoise inlay has almost no losses, save for a few stones along the handle. The handle is composed of twin scales, inlaid with a diaper pattern in silver, with silver insets holding turquoise stones. The mounts for the handle are entirely chiseled silver, matching en suite the chiseled silver scabbard. The blade is a classic watered steel, wootz, karud blade.

The dagger retains its original Bukharan cotton suspension with silver tassels reflecting Flindt's note that the "The better quality daggers often had brightly-colored silk or cotton suspension loops with long silk tassels."

Reference:  
Flindt, T. "Some nineteenth-century arms from Bukhara" in Elgood. R. _Islamic Arms and Armor_ (1968)