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.
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