Lot 443
A Very Rare English Officer's Basket-Hilted Sword With Indian Gold Koftgari DecorationMid-Late 18th Century
Fine Antique Arms, Armour & Militaria Including property from the Mark and Peter Dineley Collections
27 November 2019, 10:00 GMT
London, KnightsbridgeSold for £7,562.50 inc. premium
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Find your local specialistA Very Rare English Officer's Basket-Hilted Sword With Indian Gold Koftgari Decoration
Mid-Late 18th Century
Mid-Late 18th Century
With earlier Indian curved tulwar blade double-edged at the point and with a decoratively chiselled panel on one side below the forte, the forte silver-damascened over both sides with the nada'ali quatrain, invocations to God, Muhammad, 'Ali, Hasan and Husayn' in poorly formed naskh, one side incised with two cartouches, one retaining traces of a gold-damascened inscription, elaborate guard of thin bars (two small breaks) forming open ovoidal panels damascened with gold dots and framing shaped crosses damascened with gold flower-heads, the remaining surfaces gold-damascened with landscape scenes inhabited by birds and animals including falcons attacking wildfowl and tigers attacking blackbuck, fore-guards, large scrolled wrist-guard and compressed globular pommel all decorated en suite, the wrist-guard with a sun-in-splendour amid scrolling foliage, the pommel surmounted by a large turned tang button, and chequered spirally-grooved dark horn grip (strap missing) with a silver ferrule above and below, in its wooden scabbard covered in partly tooled black leather (lower part replaced, chape missing) with shaped locket and suspension mount each decorated en suite with the hilt and carrying a ring for suspension
78 cm. blade
78 cm. blade
