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A silver koftgari-hilted steel sword (tulwar) from the Nabha armoury North India, mid-19th Century image 1
A silver koftgari-hilted steel sword (tulwar) from the Nabha armoury North India, mid-19th Century image 2
Lot 275

A silver koftgari-hilted steel sword (tulwar) from the Nabha armoury
North India, mid-19th Century

22 May 2025, 11:00 BST
London, New Bond Street

Sold for £3,840 inc. premium

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A silver koftgari-hilted steel sword (tulwar) from the Nabha armoury
North India, mid-19th Century

the single-edged watered-steel blade of slightly curving form with flattened spine, becoming double-edged towards the point, with chiselled fuller running along the top edge to each side, one side with inscription to forte, three holes and two lines filled with brass below the inscription, the hilt of typical form with knuckle-guard terminating in a lion head, engraved and decorated in silver overlay with floral sprays and chevrons, the pommel with applied foliate band and surmounted by a spherical finial
92.2 cm. long

Footnotes

Inscriptions: sarkar-i nabha, 'Nabha State'.

Nabha State, established in 1763 by Hamir Singh, was one of the Phulkian princely states of Punjab during British rule in India. It eventually merged into Punjab state following independence in 1947. The inscription on the present lot indicates that this sword formed part of the Nabha armoury. For a gem-set gold hilt made for the Raja of Nabha State sold at Christie's, see Art of the Islamic & Indian Worlds, 21 April 2016, lot 34.

Additional information