SHAH JAHAN’S DAGGER SOLD FOR $3.4 MN

Zee News
April 11 2008
India

London, April 11: At 1.7 million pounds with premium – the dagger
which once belonged to Shah Jahan, the Mughal emperor who built the
Taj Mahal found a new owner on yesterday.

The dagger that was bought by a collector for less than a thousand
dollars in the 1960`s fetched over three times the predicted price
at the fall of the hammer.

The buyer of the USD 3.4 million dagger remained anonymous and did
his or her work by phone at an auction at Bonhams in London.

Most of the action was on the eight banks of telephones, as other
bidders in the room gave up at 1.4 million pounds.

Shah Jahan`s gold encrusted 16-th Century dagger was expected to
fetch a million dollars.

However within minutes of the auction`s start the price was already
double that. The reason for the huge interest in the Mughal era dagger
is because engraved on it`s blade are Emperor Shah Jahan`s titles,
date and place of birth, plus a symbol that he was descended from God.

The dagger is the `crown jewel` in a collection of Islamic art
belonging to wealthy French businessman Jacques Desenfans.

"It came about in his collection very unusually. Bought in the sixties
and the gentleman walked in a shop in London. Met an Armenian man
and they made the transaction then and there," Kristina Sanne, art
curator at Bonhams said.

When Desenfans bought the dagger he did not pay more than a few
hundred pounds for it.

Bonhams says it`s not unusual that today`s buyer was not present,
as most serious and wealthy collectors like to stay anonymous.