A beautiful Indian dagger hilt of pistol-grip form carved in carnelian, whose grip is shaped into lion head. The details of the lion are finely carved into the stone. The dagger presents a curved watered-steel blade, double-edged with central ridge.

Daggers of this type were initially reserved for the Mughal court and were used as exclusive gift objects, a custom that still exists in the Indian state Rajasthan. The became enormously popular in the Qing Court in China, where they were imported from India as exquisite luxury items.