Unknown
Swordcirca 1900

Not on view

No image

Artist or Maker: Unknown
Title: Sword
Place Made: India, Panjab or Rajasthan
Date Made: circa 1900
Medium: Hilt: Iron overlaid with gold and partial silvering, inlaid with rubies; Blade: damascened steel and iron overlaid with gold
Dimensions: 29 1/4 × 3 1/2 × 1 1/2 in. (74.3 × 8.89 × 3.81 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Catherine Glynn Benkaim
Accession Number: M.2006.167.4
Classification: Arms and Armor
Collecting Area: South and Southeast Asian Art
Curatorial Notes: This complexly crafted sword features a hilt with a pommel in the form of a parrot’s head, complete with a silvered beak and ruby-inset eyes, and a silvered grip. The distinctive parrot-head hilt style may have first appeared in the Deccan during the 16th century. It was likely derived from the visually similar curved pistol-grip hilt (hook-shaped with a rounded terminal) of European and Islamic weaponry traditions. The parrot’s head and nape, as well as the crossguards or quillons, are enlivened with flowering vines overlaid in gold onto the iron surface in a metalworking technique known as damascening or koftgari (made by beating). The technique originated in Iran and was first used in northern India to embellish the fine arms and armor produced for Rajput and Sikh rulers and nobles. True damascening involves the inlaying of precious metals, whereas the false damascening featured here is a shallower method of overlaying designs.

The watered steel blade is forward curved with a pointed tip, which is a blade style known as a susan patta (lily or iris [leaf-shaped] blade). It has iron bracing for three-quarters of its length on the back edge and one-quarter on the cutting edge. They are joined by rivets at the forte or strong part of the blade near the hilt. The bracing is decorated with flowering vines and open blossoms overlaid in gold. An inventory inscription in Devanagari script, transliterated as "ka 2 5," is inscribed on the blade in a cartouche formed by the bracing.

Related Unframed

Unknown
Swordcirca 1900

Not on view

No image

Artist or Maker: Unknown
Title: Sword
Place Made: India, Panjab or Rajasthan
Date Made: circa 1900
Medium: Hilt: Iron overlaid with gold and partial silvering, inlaid with rubies; Blade: damascened steel and iron overlaid with gold
Dimensions: 29 1/4 × 3 1/2 × 1 1/2 in. (74.3 × 8.89 × 3.81 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Catherine Glynn Benkaim
Accession Number: M.2006.167.4
Classification: Arms and Armor
Collecting Area: South and Southeast Asian Art
Curatorial Notes: This complexly crafted sword features a hilt with a pommel in the form of a parrot’s head, complete with a silvered beak and ruby-inset eyes, and a silvered grip. The distinctive parrot-head hilt style may have first appeared in the Deccan during the 16th century. It was likely derived from the visually similar curved pistol-grip hilt (hook-shaped with a rounded terminal) of European and Islamic weaponry traditions. The parrot’s head and nape, as well as the crossguards or quillons, are enlivened with flowering vines overlaid in gold onto the iron surface in a metalworking technique known as damascening or koftgari (made by beating). The technique originated in Iran and was first used in northern India to embellish the fine arms and armor produced for Rajput and Sikh rulers and nobles. True damascening involves the inlaying of precious metals, whereas the false damascening featured here is a shallower method of overlaying designs.

The watered steel blade is forward curved with a pointed tip, which is a blade style known as a susan patta (lily or iris [leaf-shaped] blade). It has iron bracing for three-quarters of its length on the back edge and one-quarter on the cutting edge. They are joined by rivets at the forte or strong part of the blade near the hilt. The bracing is decorated with flowering vines and open blossoms overlaid in gold. An inventory inscription in Devanagari script, transliterated as "ka 2 5," is inscribed on the blade in a cartouche formed by the bracing.