Khanjar dagger obtained by Lieutenant (later Major) William Hodson at Delhi, 1857

Hodson obtained this handsome dagger at Delhi during the Indian Mutiny (1857-1859). He probably took it from one of the royal princes when they surrendered on 21 September 1857. He is said to have stripped them of their jewellery and weapons before shooting them. Alternatively, he may have obtained them later on at the sale of treasure organised by Delhi prize agents on the roof of a house overlooking the 'Diwan-i-Khas' (King's audience chambers) at the Red Fort. Contemporaries estimated the auctioned treasure to be worth over half a million pounds.