Gallery Title
Gallery Title
Bhutanese Dagger
Accession Number NWHRM : 3058
Description
Bhutanese dagger with a decorated head and a leather sheath. It was presented to Lt. A.H. Hadow by Tongsa Penlop, ruler of Bhutan, who accompanied the Younghusband expedition to Lhasa 1903-5 when the 1st Battalion of the Norfolks supplied a 2-gun Maxim section. The pierced and gilded pommel shows the Jewel or Precious Gem, one of the key symbols representing the power of the Buddha and spiritual truth in Tibetan Buddhism. The vine scrolls are ascribed to the bhodi tree under which Buddha attained Nirvana.
Read MoreBhutanese Dagger
Hadow wrote to his mother; 'A representative of Bhutan native state, which is the neighbouring one to Sikkim, arrived here the other day to see Col. Younghusband. I showed him one of my Maxim guns and fired it which much impressed him as I don’t think he had ever seen one before. I also let him have a few rounds which much pleased him. ' The Penlop of Tongsa ruled Bhutan, a small country to the south of Tibet. The population consisted of half a million Buddhists.
