Oliver White
Head of Department
Lot 168
A fine Kutch gilt-copper Sword Western India, early 19th Century(2)
8 April 2014, 10:30 BST
London, New Bond StreetSold for £7,500 inc. premium
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A fine Kutch gilt-copper Sword
Western India, early 19th Century
Western India, early 19th Century
the hilt and scabbard repoussé, chased and stippled, the hilt with lion's head pommel and zoomorphic quillons, set with coloured glass in floral designs; the scabbard with hunting scenes, with two suspension loops with high-relief stylised lion heads, and one further band with diagonal dash motifs; the blue steel blade with gold koftgari floral decoration
93 cm. length (2)
93 cm. length (2)
Footnotes
It is unusual to find figural decoration on scabbards from the Kutch, whose decoration is usually floral, as seen on an elephant axe published in Islamic Arms and Armour from private Danish Collections, Copenhagen, 1982, pp. 216-17, no. 186. Comparison can be drawn with a pair of swords in the Clive Collection, Powis Castle (Mildred Archer, Christopher Rowley and Robert Skelton, eds., Treasures from India. The Clive Collection at Powis Castle, National Trust, 1987, pp. 52-3, no. 48); for a similar sword belonging to Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Bowser (1749-1833) sold in these rooms, see Bonhams Islamic and Indian Art, 7 October 2010, lot 371; a sword sold at Sotheby's (Arts of the Islamic World, 3rd October 2012, lot 226); and a sword in the National Museum, Delhi (Jaiwant Paul, Arms and Armour: Traditional Weapons of India, Delhi, 2005, pp. 135-36).