Some swords newly acquired by a collector

[Katana]

I was visiting a very enthusiastic sword collector to see some articles that he had acquired recently. Three of them are of interesting antecedents, design and history. Permission to photograph and publish them has been granted.

Peshkabz and Jamaiyo: The first article from the right is a jamaiyo from the Kutch region. Ideally it should have a rhino horn hilt quite similar in shape and design to arab jambaiyas, but it has been changed to one of a mughal-rajput design with white jade fixtures and a myaan or scabbard in gold zari. The next article is is a peshkabz with a 4 sided blade. This is so designed to pierce the chain armour of the warrior. The blade near the hilt is serrated to further cut the chain. The rest of the two are of varying design, one with a hilt of jade. All of them are demascened.

BaradSahebSwords 005 (Small).jpg

Rajput-Mughal swords: Three specimens, the bottom one holding greater awe. Perhaps for the first time I have seen such a sword of an unusual design, although I have come across a similar dagger. The sword is similar to that of a rajput talwar but I cannot understand how is one to slash with such a blade. Should be more for shock and awe than of any use. However, it has been wonderfully preserved. The middle one has some well done 'nakshikaari' of etching of leopards/ cheetahs hunting( I'm confused, could be cheetahs, the way it has been etched and also from the region it comes from). Also notable is the near perfect distal. Both of them are well damascened. The top sword is a cast steel sword from everyday relious use and features etchings of kaali and durga on both sides.

BaradSahebSwords 001 (Small).jpg

Swords from Gujarat's Islamic Period: Again three specimens, attributed to Naeemuddin Daullah, son of Ahmed Shah, founder of Ahmedabad. All three are dress swords or 'durbari'. They have a historic and intrinsic value but are of inferior construction in terms of materials used. Note the hilt, which is typically Perso-Turkish but obviously made here, known by the craftsmanship. Unlike Mughal swords of the Agra arsenal, the cartouches are actually bracket overlaid with gold as against the Mughal kuftgari.

BaradSahebSwords 008 (Small).jpg

[Subal das]

amazing blades, thanks for sharing!!

[Moin.]

Wow, only get to see these at Museums, thank you for sharing. What are 'cartouches' ?

Regards-Moin.

[Katana]

'Cartouches' are generally calligraphic patches on the blade and can be of varied descriptions. Generally they are done in kuftgari with gold, ie. etched into the blade and then gold wire put into it. However, these three examples contain a bracket with the gold kuftgari. In effect these brackets are raised from the plane of the blade.

[dr.jayakumar]

thanks for sharing.

[goodboy_mentor]

Nice and well preserved pieces. Blades seem to be well preserved, shining and no visible rust. Any special care/technique used or is the metal used for making these weapons somewhat "rust proof"?

These days the usual method to fasten the hilt to swords is create threads on the tang and fasten a nut. Since no rivets, nuts etc. are visible in above pictures, just curious how the hilts were fastened/joined reliably with swords in olden days when technique of fastening by nut/bolt was not very popular?

[prashantsingh]

Beautiful .

[Katana]

goodboy,

Gujarat, except for the south, has quite a dry climate, so that helps a lot in preservation of just about anything. Moreover, the usual method of cleaning faulad and sakela swords and other weapons is to use coconut oil, but not the commercial variety. Oil extracted from coconuts in the local 'ghani' or the village mill is deemed to be best. For cleaning as well as preservation kerosene, petrol or gun oil is highly avoidable because of the sulphur content in them. The actual cleaning process is rather labourious and cumbersome but the sakligars are rather adept at it. These particular article did not require much cleaning because they were well looked after in the first place. Another point is that some of these swords were acquired without their myaan or scabbard, so there are no scuff marks.

As concerns fastening the hilts to the tang, the method is to weld the 'choti' or the last part of the tang inside the bottom of the hilt and then fill it with lac. The hilts are generally made of copper and are hollow. Gold or silver warq is applied onto them after that. Of course, some are solid gold or silver too, some even have uncut diamonds, rubies and emeralds in the 'jadau' fashion. Therefore one does not see any nuts and bolts. Also I don't suppose the nuts and bolts were prevalent in those days! Nevertheless, this method is quite solid and as yet I have seen only one sword blade fly off from the holders hand while he was using it. Luckily it went behind him and did not harm anyone.

[full_circle]

Beautiful indeed. Since this is a part of a collection, one wonders what effect an entire collection would have ... I am sure most adjectives would be found lacking!

With more collection and restoration efforts like this, I hope the neglect and decay of museums in India will become a thing of the past. Katanaji, thank you for sharing these pictures, and more power to the enthusiastic collector!

[shooter]

Katanaji i was sceptical about the origins seeing the scabbards as they are clearly new. Thanks for clarifying that point.

can you please tell me if they are for sale or similar items available.

dont mind me asking but i have seen too many fakes so much so that they have purposely rusted to make them look old.

even the largest collections in the museums dont have 5-6 damascus bladed swords and with experience, i have learned to suspect any lot of weapons where most daggers/swords have the damascus effect.

please note that this comment is not directed towards you in any way.

the bottom one holding greater awe. Perhaps for the first time I have seen such a sword of an unusual design, although I have come across a similar dagger. The sword is similar to that of a rajput talwar but I cannot understand how is one to slash with such a blade. Should be more for shock and awe than of any use.

This sword is called nagan/nagin (female snake).
Due to its shape, it doesnt have a scabbard.
Its used to fight but havent read any reports re: its efficacy.
I will trying to see if i can find any pics of 'sanpola' (baby snake) sword.

[goodboy_mentor]

Its used to fight but havent read any reports re: its efficacy.

Nagini barcha is said to have been successfully used in battle at Lohgarh in Punjab during 1700 AD against a drunken elephant. Drunken elephants covered with armour/steel plates were used to break the doors of forts, by making them bang their heads against the doors. In a given length of weapon, a greater amount of metal can be accumulated by giving it a sinusoidal shape. Probably this kind of shape was given to concentrate more weight in weapon, without increasing its thickness. A sleek/pointed but heavier weapon can create more momentum directed towards the tip of the weapon, when used in a forward direction to pierce the armour.

I will trying to see if i can find any pics of 'sanpola' (baby snake) sword.

Found pictures of nagini barcha and nagini dagger at http://www.lovepunjab.com/threads/8324- ... an?p=45080

I am not able to recall accurately, I have a feeling that probably saw a picture of full sized nagini sword as depicted in picture posted by katana in some magazine many years ago. Probably it was from the collection of arms in palace of Maharaja of Patiala.

[shooter]

Dear GBm. Thanks for the pics.

however please note that the barcha/barchha is different than the nagan talwar. And as i said actual accounts of the nagan talwar are difficult to come by.

secondly sanpola is different to a nagan khanjar.

[Rajat]

goodboy,
As concerns fastening the hilts to the tang, the method is to weld the 'choti' or the last part of the tang inside the bottom of the hilt and then fill it with lac. The hilts are generally made of copper and are hollow. Gold or silver warq is applied onto them after that. Of course, some are solid gold or silver too, some even have uncut diamonds, rubies and emeralds in the 'jadau' fashion. Therefore one does not see any nuts and bolts. Also I don't suppose the nuts and bolts were prevalent in those days! Nevertheless, this method is quite solid and as yet I have seen only one sword blade fly off from the holders hand while he was using it. Luckily it went behind him and did not harm anyone.

I agree with most of the above. In most cases even the end of the tang is not welded and lac is all that holds the blade and surprisingly well too. Nuts and bolts were not used. However there were exceptions and interestingly the threads were made the other way round than what we have now. In the common north Indian swords the the hilts were made of iron.

[timmy]

Thank you, katana, for the pictures and explanation and thank all of you gentlemen for the fascinating discussion! I am appreciating both the beauty and the history here!

[grewal]

I have no words to describe this intricate art work. Simply class apart. Beautiful.