Grand Vestibule: The British Monarchy and the World
The Grand Vestibule at Windsor Castle reflects interaction between the monarchy and the wider world
Dagger (peshkabs) and scabbard
RCIN 62464
This ingenious blade has a curved channel in which loose pearls move as the dagger is tilted. The dagger part of the collection of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, but its early history is unknown. It may be associated with the rulers of Alwar, who appear to have been great patrons of the swordsmith 'Ibrahim' and who exhibited swords and daggers by him with channels for free-moving pearls at the Colonial and Indian Exhibition (1886) and the Delhi Exhibition (1903). A similar example was sent to the duke’s older brother, Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, by Jashwant Singh, Maharaja of Bharatpur, following his visit to India in 1875–76.
In the collection of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh.
