Baton with Jade Finial

Description This is a composite object, consisting of a shaft, bejeweled with semiprecious stones, including turquoise, and a Mughal Indian jade finial. The finial was attached at some point in the object’s history, either while the object was in the Ottoman treasury or later, when it came into the hands of Robert S. Pardo, who sold the piece to Henry Walters (1848–1931). Pardo describes this unusual object as a scepter; however, it is unclear what the object was intended for, although it seems similar in purpose to maces, swords, and daggers, which were held or worn to indicate the wealth and authority of their owners.

Conservation

Date	Description	Narrative
2/28/1962	Treatment	cleaned; repaired
7/01/1981	Treatment	cleaned; examined for condition

Exhibitions

• Pearls on a String: Artists, Patrons, and Poets at the Great Islamic Courts. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore; Asian Art Museum, San Francisco. 2015-2016.

Provenance Robert S. Pardo, Istanbul; purchased by Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1903; by bequest to Walters Art Museum, 1931.

Credit Acquired by Henry Walters, 1903