Temple sword, steel, Thanjavur, 18th century

Temple sword, steel

As originally arranged and displayed in Exhibition Road Indian Museum galleries until 1955, with some later additions while in storage, case F.707
On the file MA/1/B2237, Nominal File, Bradley, L.S. Mrs., the Keeper of the Indian Section, Caspar Stanley Clarke, notes (10 January 1924):
'The objects submitted for purchase have been selected from an important collection formed by the late Herbert Bradley, CSI, Barr., ICS, member of the Legislative Council of Madras, etc etc. See cutting from the India Office List'. He adds 'The vendor's husband, an exceedingly shrewd collector, took many years in forming his collection, and, by the way, was the first to call the attention of Lord Ampthill to the magnificent S.I. bronzes which are now on loan here'.
The cutting from the IO List adds that Herbert Bradley arrived in India in 1878 and served in Madras as 'asst.collr. and mag.; sec. to the commr. of salt, abkari and separate rev., April 1888; collr. and mag., July, 1894; member, rev.board, Nov., 1900; ditto, and commr. of salt, &c., rev., May, 1901; addl. member, legisl. council, Madras, Dec., 1900, Nov., 1902, March, 1904, and March, 1906; CSI Jan., 1906; acted as chief sec., to govt. on various occasions from May, 1905; temp. member of govr.'s council, Feb. to April, 1908; chief sec. to Govt. of Madras, Nov., 1908; retd., Oct, 1909.

IM.21-1924