Sword thumbnail 1
Not currently on display at the V&A

Sword

17th century-before 1825 (made)
Artist/Maker
Unknown
Place of origin
Punjab (made)

Watered steel blade chiselled in low relief and gilt with hunting scenes. The back of the blade is also decorated to the point with scrolling floral gold kuftkari ornament. The hilt is of Persian form of one piece of steel. The pommel is in the shape of a tiger's head with a moveable tongue. It is decorated with gold kuftkari borders.


Object details

Categories
Arms & Armour
India Museum
Object type
Sword
Materials and techniques
Crucible forged steel, chiselled and decorated with gold kuftkari
Brief description
Sword (shamshir) chiselled in low relief with hunting scenes with an Iranian style hilt in the form of a tiger's head, decorated with gold damascene, Panjab, ante 1825
Physical description
Watered steel blade chiselled in low relief and gilt with hunting scenes. The back of the blade is also decorated to the point with scrolling floral gold kuftkari ornament. The hilt is of Persian form of one piece of steel. The pommel is in the shape of a tiger's head with a moveable tongue. It is decorated with gold kuftkari borders.
Dimensions
  • Taken from egerton length: 37in
Credit line
Transferred from the India Museum in 1879
Object history
As originally arranged and displayed in Exhibition Road Indian Museum galleries until 1955, with some additions while in storage, case F.718
Production
Presented to the East India Museum by Col. C.F. Doyle in 1825. Transferred from the India Museum to South Kensington Museum in 1879
Bibliographic references
  • Egerton, Wilbraham, An illustrated handbook of Indian arms; being a classified and descriptive catalogue of the arms exhibited at the India museum: with an introductory sketch of the military history of India, London, 1880 p.131
  • Lord Egerton of Tatton, Indian and Oriental Armour, London, 1896, p. 131, Cat. No. 647
Other numbers
  • 647 - Egerton Catalogue Number
  • 12,640-'25 - India Museum Slip Book
Collection
South & South East Asia Collection
Accession number
3426(IS)

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Record createdSeptember 10, 2003
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O84157/sword-unknown/
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