Katar (punch dagger)

Culture Rajasthani , northwest India

Date1700s

Mediumwootz (crucible steel), gold, iron

Dimensions39.5 cm × 9 (15 9/16 × 3 9/16 in.), 1 lb, 8 oz (weight)

ClassificationsArms and Armor

Credit LineThe John Woodman Higgins Armory Collection

Terms

Object number2014.34

DescriptionFinely made wootz steel blade, rhomboid in section with concave faces, and diamond section in a reinforced point for about one quarter of the length from the tip. The blade is straight, triangular in form, and relatively short, with both edges sharpened; there is some waisting of the edges from multiple sharpenings. On both faces is a sharp raised rib down the center of the axis, and to either side of this is a broad, shallow fuller running parallel with the outer cutting edge, tapering to a rounded point. The fuller bears 3 subtle ribs radiating downwards in a chevronic pattern on each side of the central rib. The fuller has been watered to bring out the grain of the wootz; the rest of the blade is highly polished.

The hilt is of the usual "H" form, with a pair of parallel iron bars that widen to their bluntly pointed ends, transversely connected by a close-set pair of balustered bars of hexagonal section that form the grip. The hilt is russeted, and decorated with koft-gari gilding overall, in undulating interconnected foliate tendrils with delicately incised detailing. The primary motif is a triple-blossomed flower arising from a feathery stalk, and to either side of the base is a pair of large, leafy fronds. All of the gilding is on a finely hatched ground.
Label TextThe blade on this distinctively Indian weapon is an outstanding example of steel craftsmanship: the extremely hard crucible-steel blade has been painstakingly ground to produce the subtle ribbing and central ridge in the hollowed section.Provenance(W. O. Oldman [1879-1949], London); May 1, 1931, John W. Higgins [1874-1961], Worcester, MA; January 8, 1947, given to the Higgins Armory Museum, Worcester, MA; January 2014, transferred with Higgins Armory Collection to the Worcester Art Museum.

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