Gem-Set Enamelled Talwar

India (Jaipur or Hyderabad), 19th century
Enamelled gold, iron, steel, gems
91.5 cm long (sheathed), 89.5 cm long (unsheathed)
Stock no.: A5966

Provenance: UK private collection, purchased in 1999.

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This fine talwar is decorated at the hilt, locket, and chape with green enamel and inset with gemstones mounted with the kundan technique into floral rosettes. The curved watered steel blade is housed in a velvet-covered wooden scabbard. The blade is stamped with an ‘eyelash mark’, which has often been associated with Genoan workshops, but which was widely copied by Indian swordsmiths on so-called firangi blades.
By the 19th century, there were several centres of enamelling in North India, notably Lucknow, Delhi, Benares, and most famously Jaipur. An example of similar enamelwork from Jaipur is seen on a perfume holder in the British Royal Collection (accession no. RCIN 11423), dated to ca. 1875.

A talwar with a similar hilt, decorated with diamonds set into green enamel, is in the Al-Sabah Collection, Kuwait (no. LNS 2154 J ab).1 It is also fitted with an Indian blade with European-style markings. Inscriptions on the hilt date it to 1213 AH (1798-1799 CE) and give the name of the owner, a Hyderabadi prince. Another similar talwar hilt dated to the 19th century is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (accession no. 36.25.1591a,b).

[1] Kaoukji, Salam. Precious Indian Weapons and Other Princely Accoutrements. London: Thames & Hudson, 2017, cat. 112, p. 318.

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