Malek M. Sahami (1926-1997), method of acquisition unknown [2]
From 1955
Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Malek M. Sahami [3]
Notes:
[1] See the inscription on the spine of the blade, starting at the edge of the handle, reads: "There fell in the time of Jahangir Shah [/] From lightening-iron, a lightening-like, precious piece [/] Jahangir, [son of] Akbar ordered to make of that [/] Two swords, this knife and a dagger. [/] In the year 1030 [1621 A.D.] In the year 16 [of Jahangir's accession].
146." Out of the four weapons mentioned, only this knife is known to have survived. The number 146 at the end must be the number of an inventory (of the emperor or artist). See also object record sheet remarks by Esin Atil and Glenn Lowry, October 1985, p. 30, copy in object file. In 1985, Esin Atil and Glenn Lowry suggest that the number “may also refer to the knife’s metal content.”
See also the gold inlay in the shape of an umbrella on one side of the blade, which is possibly the imperial seal of Jahangir. Called the “imperial parasol” by Carol Radcliffe Bolon in her object record sheet remark from 1993, p. 31, copy in object file.
See also Alexander Rogers (translator), “The Tu¯zuk-i-Jaha¯ngi¯ri¯, or, Memoirs of Jaha¯ngi¯r,” ed. Henry Beveridge (London: Royal Asiatic Society, 1909-1914), vol. 2, pp. 204-205. In the memoirs of Jahangir, he includes an account of when the meteorite fell from the sky on about April 10, 1621. Jahangir ordered Muhammad Sa’id, a tax collector of Jullunder, to retrieve the meteorite and then for Master Daud to make a sword, a dagger, and a knife from the meteorite.
See also object record sheet remark by Edward P. Henderson, titled “[H.] Blochmann, 1869 quote from Iqbalnamak i Jahangiri [Iqbal Nama-i-Jahangiri] the following,” 1956, p. 12, copy in object file. Ustad Daud was well known at that time for making excellent sword blades.
[2] See letter from Richard Ettinghausen to Malek M. Sahami, Esq., dated August 24, 1955, copy in object file. According to the letter, the object was on display in the meteorite display at the United States National Museum (now the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History) when Malek M. Sahami, Esq., offered the object to Richard Ettinghausen while in-person.
Malek M. Sahami (1926-1997) was an Iranian-born collector and attorney in Washington, DC.
[3] See object file for copy of Malek M. Sahami, Esq., invoice to Freer Gallery of Art, dated November 2, 1955, and marked approved on November 2, 1955, copy in object file.
Research updated March 14, 2023
Collection:
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Exhibition History:
Body Image (October 14, 2017 - ongoing)
Arts of the Indian Subcontinent and the Himalayas (October 16, 2004 to January 3, 2016)
South and South East Asian Art (May 9, 1993 to February 7, 2000)
Wonders of Creation, Oddities of Existence: An Exhibition in Celebration of Halley's Comet (February 28, 1986 to October 27, 1986)
Islamic Metalwork in the Freer Gallery of Art (September 27, 1985 to November 17, 1986)
The Arts of South Asia (May 13, 1985 to December 2, 1985)
Special Exhibition Afghanistan (September 3, 1963 to June 5, 1964)
