Inventory

Wootz Shikargah Sword

Full Description:

This shikargah (or hunting) sword has an important and fine blade. It is lightweight, with high contrast wootz steel and a subtle medial ridge that leads to a ‘spear-point’ tip. Its base is sandwiched between two openwork reinforcing mounts which are decorated with gold and depict an elephant boldly chasing down a tiger that has pounced upon a deer. Mounted in a silver-gilt basket hilt of small proportions, the silvering of the grip is a further indication of the richness of the piece as it would have typically been hidden by a covering of material. The hourglass-shape of the grip and the acute angles of its protrusions relates this to the Jodhpur type of hilt.

The scabbard is probably 19^th century in date, having a wooden core covered with green velvet and fitted with a copper-gilt chape and suspension loop with an openwork design.

This piece is similar to two swords in the Jodhpur Fort, both of which are catalogued by Elgood[1] and thought to have been of royal ownership—certainly, the quality of this example suggests the same.