visual treat for blade lovers

[shooter]

here is some good news for all people in uk/ visiting london.
im sure that for all our members , there are other places to see other than visiting madam tussads.
vikram has written in detail about those places in detail so i wont go there.

There is however one place in london which is neglected by most tourists.

This is the wallace collection, the largest private collection (museum) in the world, the largest collection of european arms in the world, one of the three largest collection of indian arms in the world (other 2 being V&A museum and towr of london- wallace collection is the only private one).

It is better known for its colllection of paintings, sculptures, objects d' art and antiques but ill limit my article to the indian arms section.

The best- and surprising- part is that despite being private its free. I mean people would be willing to pay money to see the collection.

First let me start with what the tourists are intrested in:

Sword, shield of maharaja ranjit singh ji of punjab.

Sword of tipu sultan (th table in the lower right corner)

Dagger (katar) of emperor Shahjehan. (in the dagger display in lower left corner)

However these three arent the most amazingly beautiful arms there.

There are tulwars, shamshirs, khandas, pattas, khanjars, katar, jambia, chhura, maces, rare weapons like bhuj, maru, the sikh chakra, sosun patta.

The hilts of all these weapons are made from materials ranging from steel to materials like jade, ivory, and even solid gold and have amazing work like encrusting, kundan, meena, koftgiri.
To see what i mean, see the pic and notice how beautifullty even a simple thing like an elephant ankush has been decorated.

The jauhar in the blades was of at least 3 types with beautiful inlay work, relief work, engraving. A few were made by assad ullah.

I just didnt hold my breath, i was actually unable to breathe.
I couldnt obtain the count of the arms (from india) were but i do remember having checked the details in the catalouge for an item no. 2218.
Notice the upper part of the right wall of the gallery. there are enough shields and topes (helmets) to equip a whole platoon.

I also had an oppertunity to see the now rare rajput armour armour 'chitla hazaar maasha' or "coat of a thousand nails" in thich the fabric armor is reinforced with hundreds or thousands of brass rivets to make it strong yet keep it light.

There was also an unusual (for india) steel helmet with horns (like the so called viking helmets they show in movies) and ears.(this was from deccan).

To intrest our other members, there were flintlocks, wheel locks, matchlocks, percussion guns with such amazing inlay and engraving work that one begins to doubt if they are guns or works of beauty made to resemble firearms.

The collection of gunpowder flasks especially the ones mare of cerved staghorn and ivory is mind boggling. Each flask is as- if not more- elaborately carved as marble in ranakpur and delwara jain temples.

I had earlier told the receptionist of my intrest in indian arms so they found me and directed me to a lecture by the curator about european swords (if anyone is intrested, i will write a post about it later).

After the lecture i spoke to him and he was very helpful and friendly.
I pointed out some of the discrepencies in the catalouge , he said the catalouge had been compiled in 1918.
And they had for the first time, recently appointed a curater for the indian section.( who was away to india for some research on swords from hyderabad.)

Though he was extremely helpful and even gave me some published papers about indian arms, my luck had run out at least for the day.

You see photography is not permitted in the museum except for research purposes and the lady who authorises this was away that day and i didnt have an appointment and outline etc of my project so couldnt meet her assistant.

The trust didnt have money to print a picture catalouge (even black and white) it will be out in around 5 years and they were joking that i was young enough to wait that long.

One book that had a few pics from the collection was sold out.

The head of armouries promised to give me photocopies of pics provided i gave him the item number.

I am waiting for the book to be back in stock.

Cant wait to get back to the museum and spend another day there.

If people want i can take pics of pictures in the brochure and post them here.

www.thewallacecollectioncollection.org

[penpusher]

That is a nice way to pass some extra time.The Ankush is obviously for ceremonial occasions.

After the uprising of 1857 majority of the Indian arms were destroyed,only the most valuable(read intricately made) and curiosities survived.So,though these may not be truly representative of the arms use in the battle field,the fact that they are there at all should make us happy.For those who think that anything taken out of India should be brought back I have just this to ask,"Have you visited a museum lately and if yes have you noticed the general air of decay that pervades most of them?".Sadly most of Indian artifacts have been better preserved in foreign hands than Indian

[shooter]

paaji ure spot on. the glass cases holding the weapons are temp, humidity controlled. Phycicists have teamed up with the armoury team to study the blades via various techniques.

Arms made in 16 and early 17 centuries didnt compromise on the practicality and usability of the weapons despite being ornately decorated.

But in mid 17 century onwards, the ornate decorations also made the weapon useless like aurangzebs shamsheer in the national museum.

[snIPer]

Thanks for sharing Shooter

[shooter]

Hi guys finally they have allowed photography in wallace museum so i am resurrecting this old old post of mine.

Unfortunately they only allow photographs without flash and i only had my phone with me so i have done my best to take pics as clearly as possible.

The collection is the largest collection of indian arms and european armour in the world (at least in terms of variety) but due to my personal interest, i have only restricted it to the indian arms.

Please read this post in conjunction with the following posts:

Types of knives:

http://www.indiansforguns.com/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=8780

and:
Types of Indian swords:

http://www.indiansforguns.com/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=5416

In both these posts members have asked for pics.

I shall try my best to explain the various terms and show some other types or arms etc.

Please note that whenever I use the word "Hindoo" i am referring not any religious affiliation but to the origin meaning the present day India + Indus valley.

First the old Hindoo sword:

Also called khanda. Culturally grew to symbolise hinduism. (Hence resistance to mughal culture) as evidenced by its use by Rana Pratap, Guru govind singh ji. Persian shamsheer or the curved sword was far more suited to cavalry due to the ease of slicing. The momentum of the horse allows these swords to be light and have a greater curve. A khanda's hacking action doesnt allow it to be as good a slicer. hence the greater weight at the tip to be a good hacker. This has led to the khanda having a tip or being concave.
Note the indian tulwar comproses a shamsheer blade and a modified hindu pommel.

Ill illustrate in the pics below:

shamsheer:



Look at the curved blade:



In contrast, look at the khanda:



Close up of the pommel of the khanda:
(note the padding; insulation needed due to the hacking motion)



Because the blade was long straight and flexible (essential for a good sword; but thats another topic), it needed strength commonly given by reinforcing it with metal strips riveted to it:



in contrast the indian tulwar, used for slicing, doesnt need padding and this is reflected in the pommel:



In all the pics notice the excellent workmanship which is a hallmark of indo-persian arms. Not just koftagiri but kundan, jadaoo, engraving, damascus etc were used to decorate the hilts. Please note that the works in wallace museums are par excellence and of very high quality workmanship and hence these weapons can also be much more plain and simple but equally deadly!

Moving to the other topics about indian knives:

Khanjarli:



another one:



Zafar takiyeh:



Bhuj, a special Hindoo knife+axe specific to region of Kutch:



Zaghnal or armour piercing axe:




Notice the fine workmanship on the axe head:



Tulwar with serrated edge to cut armour:



Which brings me to Maru, a weapon made from blackbuck horns has a shield in the middle and the tips are spiked with steel; another hindoo weapon:



A rhino skin shield:



A most unusual shield, made of katars:



Before the chainmail armour or when good steel was expensive esp in desert areas where even the weather wouldnt permit one to wear it, a leather armour Chitla hazaar maashaa or coat of a thousand nails were worn. Ot had 5 pieces of steel protecting ones vitals and the rest was leather painstakingly having metal tivets. The old Rajpoot armour but sadly lost in history books. You can just about make out the khanda strapped to the side. Films, television etc depict europeaneque armour. Very few full armours of this type survive firstly due to no interese of the people and secondly steel survives longer than leather.



Note the "nails" or rivets closely:




The hall of the Oriental arms:



In the foreground is maharaja Ranjeet Singh's sword.

Example of meena work on shamsheer, Indian in origin:



Another one shaped like a rams head:



A close up:



These pics dont do justice to the collection and arent intended to. There are many more arms of extremely fine workmanship and craftsmanship. This post was to give members an overview and a slight technical and historical insight into Indian arms. If fellow members want, I shall post more and better quality pics here.

[prashantsingh]

Spectacular. What a priceless collection .
I loved the swords.
Did they actually carry such expensive swords (ivory and gold handles) into battle? They look more like "Ceremonial" ones.
The British have studied and preserved our cultural heritage better than we have.
As a small child I had visited the Residency.Lucknow. I had seen the place "littered" with cannon balls, swords, spears and old guns.
Last month I visited the place again (after a gap of more than 30 years) and found most of them gone.
I asked one of the workers if they had stacked them up and kept them in some safe.
He showed me a small collection (less than a third of what I remember) and told me that this was all they had. He also added that till a proper boundary wall came up around the Residency , it was free for all. People would pick up what they liked and just carry it home.
Anyone who has visited our old forts and palaces would surely have seen the Graffiti display which is unique to our great nation.

[shooter]

The ceremonial swords werent carried into the battle. The blades if they have inlay work, lose their strength.

But even if the blade doesnt have inlay, such swords are too precious to be carried into battle. If you go to the city palace of Jaipur, see the battle sword of Raja Man singh I. Plain steel, no decoration except the inlay work showing an umbrella (symbolising the owner being a king).

[brihacharan]

The ceremonial swords werent carried into the battle. The blades if they have inlay work, lose their strength.

But even if the blade doesnt have inlay, such swords are too precious to be carried into battle. If you go to the city palace of Jaipur, see the battle sword of Raja Man singh I. Plain steel, no decoration except the inlay work showing an umbrella (symbolising the owner being a king).

> Truly a feast for the eyes & to those who love weapons.
> Reminded me of my visit to the museum several years ago and being conducted around by a lady wearing a red blazer.
> She was proudly telling the visitors that these priceless objects were "Acquired".... to which I gently responded "Plundered"!!!
> Whereupon her Lily-white Brit complexion turned a "Beetroot Red"!!!
> A pity that our heritage is stored & preserved across the 'Bligh'. So much for history - His Story.
Cheers
Brihacharan

[mundaire]

Fantastic post Shooter, very informative and some lovely specimens! Did they have any "pistol daggers"? Am not sure of the exact term...

Cheers!
Abhijeet

[shooter]

Dear Mundaire, there are no pistol daggers. Nor any "scissor daggers" or gupti guns or "two in one" swords or any other "curios" weapons.

This not only true of just indian weapons but also of the japanese, chinese and innumerable european weapons.

This collection has a variety of weapons but no "combos".

Since this was started as a private collection and not intended to be a museum, the weapons reflect the taste of the collector.

On a more psychodynamic level, since the collector was an illegitimate child, maybe he didnt fancy collecting "bastardised weapons" and since he never inherited fathers titles and would never be considered noble blood, all the arms in the collections are from ex royalty or ex nobility.

[hamiclar01]

Last month I visited the place again (after a gap of more than 30 years) and found most of them gone.
I asked one of the workers if they had stacked them up and kept them in some safe.
He showed me a small collection (less than a third of what I remember) and told me that this was all they had. He also added that till a proper boundary wall came up around the Residency , it was free for all. People would pick up what they liked and just carry it home.
Anyone who has visited our old forts and palaces would surely have seen the Graffiti display which is unique to our great nation.

I wouldn't be too hasty. The main things stopping historical plunder in England are locks and burglar alarms. I remember reading on how all world war artefacts , specially crashed bombers needed 24 hour sentry duty by the police since they used to be stripped clean by the locals of everything.....perspex, compass, machine guns...

Nice pics, by the way

[Vikram]

Dear Shooter,

Excellent post and much education on Indian arms and armoury. The craftsmanship is superb.Thank you for posting this for us.


Best-
Vikram

[Olly]

Shooter,
Thanks for the visual treat and posting the pics !!

[Sakobav]

Shooter

Thanks those are great and priceless photos and great narrative on each items background ..I dont recall the name I did see some Indian collection at another museum in London..
Thanks

[prashantsingh]

Was it the Victoria and Albert , Naga?
London probably has the richest collection of artifacts from all over the world. Simply because there was a time when "the sun never set on the British Empire".
That's an interesting piece of info hamiclar1 . Looks like the basic human nature is the same world wide. ha ha.