sword (weapons: edged)

Elaborate north Indian sword, shamshir. The curved single edge blade is probably from Iran, and has a dark coloured Sham pattern of watering, and retains much of its original polished finish. The iron pommel matches the crosspiece and twin hanging bands fixed to the scabbard; all are carved in low relief and decorated with gold koftgari, and applied with numerous leaf-shaped cabochon turquoises The two-piece silver grips are embossed with stylised flowering foliage and applied with coloured pastes in imitation of rubies and diamonds. The bottom of the grip has been bound with silver bullion thread to retain a wrist strap (now missing).

fighting

object
MUSEUM NUMBER
nn12466.1
PLACE
COLLECTION
MEASUREMENTS
overall: 852 mm x 110 mm
MATERIAL/TECHNIQUE
iron; copper alloy; turquoise; glass; gold; silver
CATEGORY
Anthropology: Ethnography
SHAREABLE LINK

Continue exploring anthropology

Collection Information

These objects are only a part of our collections, of which there are more than 350,000 objects. This information comes from our collections database. Some of this is incomplete and there may be errors. This part of the website is also still under construction, so there may be some fields repeated or incorrectly formatted information.

The database retains language taken from historical documents to help research. Please note that some records may feature language and reflect systems of thinking that are outdated and offensive. The database also includes information on objects that are considered secret or sacred by some communities.

If you have any further information about objects in our collections, can suggest corrections to our information or if you see content requiring immediate action, please contact us: enquiry@horniman.ac.uk