Enrica Medugno
Senior Sale Coordinator
Lot 270
A gold koftgari-hilted watered-steel sword (tulwar) belonging to Lala Ghanaiya Lal Punjab, circa 1830-40
22 May 2025, 11:00 BST
London, New Bond StreetSold for £12,160 inc. premium
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Oliver White
Head of Department
A gold koftgari-hilted watered-steel sword (tulwar) belonging to Lala Ghanaiya Lal
Punjab, circa 1830-40
Punjab, circa 1830-40
the single-edged watered-steel blade of curving form, decorated in gold inlay to both sides along the upper edge with a band punctuated by vegetal motifs, the forte to one side with a lobed inscription-filled cartouche, the hilt of typical form, with knuckle guard, decorated in gold overlay with floral and foliate designs, the inside of the knuckle guard with inscription in Gurmukhi
89.8 cm. long
89.8 cm. long
Footnotes
Provenance
Brigadier-General Armine Simcoe Henry Mountain (1797-1854), presumably acquired during his service in the Punjab during the Second Anglo-Sikh War (1848–49), thence by descent.
Private UK collection.
Inscriptions: to the knuckle guard, in Gurmukhi, akal sahai lala ghaiya lal, '[May the] Immortal One protect Lala Ghanaiya Lal'; to the blade, tawakkalu 'ala allah, 'I put my trust in God'.
A revenue official named Lala Ghanaiya Lal in the service of Maharajah Gulab Singh of Jammu (reg. 1846-1856) is mentioned in Bobby Singh Bansal, Remnants of the Sikh Empire, Historical Sikh Monuments in India & Pakistan, India, 2015.
In August 1847, Lord Dalhousie, then governor-general of India, gave Armine Simcoe Henry Mountain (1797–1854) the appointment of military secretary, and he arrived in India in January 1848. After the murder of Anderson and Vans Agnew at Mooltan, Mountain obtained leave to join his regiment, the 29th, to take part in the Second Anglo-Sikh War under Lord Gough. He was made a brigadier-general, and his brigade was composed of his own regiment and the 13th and 30th native infantry. On the death of Colonel Cureton the post of adjutant-general was accepted by Mountain on the condition that he should retain his brigade until the approval of his nomination arrived from home. He took a prominent part in the battle of Chillianwalla on 13 January 1849. Lord Gough in his despatch says: 'The left brigade, under Brigadier Mountain, advanced under a heavy fire upon the enemy's guns in a manner that did credit to the brigadier and his gallant brigade, which came first into action and suffered severely.' He also took part in the battle of Gujerat on 21 February and was afterwards appointed to command the Bengal division of the force under Major-General Walter Gilbert (1785–1853) to pursue the Sikhs. He died at Fatehgarh, Uttar Pradesh, after a few days' illness on 8 February 1854 in a house belonging to the Maharaja Duleep Singh, who, with the commander-in-chief, the headquarters staff, and all the troops, attended Mountain's funeral.