Runjeet Singh Arms Armour Fro
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+44 (0)7866 424 803 [email protected] runjeetsingh.com ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS It is fitting at the start of this work that I thank my mother, my late father, and my wife and children who have given me endless love, patience and support. I would also like to offer a heartfelt message of gratitude to numerous colleagues and friends who contributed to the research and production of this publication. CONTENTS Daggers 08 Swords 42 Polearms 58 Firearms 62 Objects 66 Armour 78 Shields 90 Helmets 96 Written by Runjeet Singh Winter 2016 All prices on request 9 1 SHIVA KATAR The wootz damascus or watered This exquisite chiselled image has steel blade has large chiselled close similarities to Mewari painting RAJASTHAN, INDIA depictions of Lord Shiva on each in the first half of the nineteenth side. He stands in a playful yogic century and to the Kangra-Pahari CIRCA 1850 AD stance with a small dog licking his leg school of painting of the same in reverence. His long curling hair is period. A related depiction can OVERALL 440 MM adorned with flowers, and his third be seen in a painting of Shiva and BLADE 225 MM eye open - capable of imploding the Parvati in the Freer Gallery of Art, cosmos, or paradoxically spreading Washington D.C.1 light and wisdom into the world. The Bundi style hilt is covered in Each of his four hands carries sheet gold decorated with stippled an object: on the right, a trident flowers, showing some wear. or trisula, the three prongs Nordlunde (2009) discusses this representing his three aspects as particular style of katar as belonging creator, protector and destroyer, to the larger of two groups that the long shaft representing the axis were made in Bundi around 1850 of the universe; also on the right A.D. A characteristic of these Bundi he holds a wheel or chakra, the katars is the pierced floral design symbol of life and death, a throwing linking the distinctive grip bars. weapon. On the left, Shiva holds a double edged sword or khanda, A similar dagger was in the collection a symbol of wisdom in the battle of the late Dr. Leo Figiel.2 against ignorance and the forces of destruction. The last object he holds may be a shield, dhal, but is References more likely to be a mirror, darpana, 1. Accession number Acc.no.F2001.11. representing the aspect of Shiva See the Freer and Sackler website that is not manifest. Shiva in his http://www.asia.si.edu/ androgynous aspect carries a mirror 2. For the sale of his collection see in one of his left hands (the female Butterfield and Butterfield, San Francisco, sale catalogue number side) as a symbol of wisdom and, 6824A, 1998, lot no.2117. at the same time, of the emptiness of all worldly matters. 10 2 BUNDI KATAR ‘....the tongue of death’ is how an The Hermitage katar is catalogued identical katar in the Metropolitan as late eighteenth century and RAJASTHAN, INDIA Museum is described in a Sanskrit was originally collected by Count inscription on the forte of the blade. A. Saltykov.4 It transferred from CIRCA 1850 AD The dagger shown here has no such the Tsarskoselskkiy Arsenal to the inscription, but the design belongs to Hermitage in 1885. OVERALL 415 MM the same small group commissioned BLADE 215 MM circa 1850 AD by the Maharaja of Prince Saltykov made two voyages Bundi, Rao Ram Singh (1811AD to India, in 1841-43 and in 1844-46. -1889AD) whose name appears on In 1848, in Paris, he published his a number of these katars. letters and drawings recording these journeys in Lettres sur L’Inde and the The dagger would serve as an book became a best seller, delighting adornment in the cummerbund of its the Russian public. He made an owner at court, but could be quickly important collection of arms and drawn and was easily capable of was extremely influential as an early piercing armour, or inflicting a fatal collector of Oriental arms. wound on a tiger in the hunting field. A similar katar is in the Royal The heavily gilt round side bars have Armouries, Leeds, purchased at a spiral twist, a distinctive feature of London’s Great Exhibition of 1851.5 this group, as is the bridge of flowers linking the grips. The blade ricasso is bordered with a garland of flowers References and an elephants’ head. A work of 3. See Anatoly A. Ivanov, Masterpieces of art in steel, the craftsman has skillfully Islamic Art in The Hermitage Museum, an exhibition held at the Dar al-Athar created a complex, highly efficient al-Islamiyyah, Kuwait 1990, no.111. and decorative arrangement of fullers 4. in the watered steel blade. A very Number 1180 in the Salyukov Collection. similar arrangement of fullers on a 5. Royal Armouries, Leeds, no.XXVID.84. pattern welded blade can be seen on a katar in the Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg.3 12 3 GAJA-LAKSHMI This katar has a blade with a The Sanskrit text Hastayurveda9 We cannot currently attribute this KATAR chiselled depiction of Gaja-Lakshmi describes the importance of the katar to either of the princely states at the forte, one of the most elephant to the prosperity of of Rajasthan, but we can say, it was significant ‘Ashtalakshmi’ aspects of the state: made for royal or noble use and is RAJASTHAN, INDIA the Hindu goddess Lakshmi. Both as a unique object which should be 19TH CENTURY a weapon and as a devotional icon “If they did not pay worship to the preserved and treasured by its the katar is fascinating. ‘Ashtalakshmi’ elephant, the king and the kingdom, new guardian. OVERALL 410 MM (eight Lakshmis) are a group of the army and the elephants, would BLADE 224 MM eight Hindu goddesses, secondary be doomed to perish, because manifestations of Shri Lakshmi, who a divinity would have been References preside over eight sources of wealth. disregarded. Contrarywise, if due 9. Zimmer, Myths and Symbols in Indian Art In this context, wealth would be worship is paid to the elephant, they and Civilisation, 1974, IV.22, p.108. strength, power and prosperity. The will thrive and prosper together with 10. Elgood writes in Rajput Arms and goddess sits beneath two elephants their wives and sons, the country, the Armour. The Rathores and their Armoury at Jodhpur Fort, who stand on the open-book army, and the elephants”. (in publication) that: ‘The only complete example known shaped lower hilt, lustrating her to the author is from Kota and is in with water from their trunks which The side bars are chiselled on the bad condition. The implements include: silver opium container; two very small extend and touch in the centre. In outer surfaces with a border and steel churi missing handles; ivory ear a typical gesture the four-armed floral panels top and bottom while cleaner with spoon end; solid silver goddess holds lotus flowers in her the swollen grip bars are separated tubular strip with knop finial, serving no obvious purpose. Two pairs of scissors. upper two hands, and her lower by ruby set ‘C’ scrolls. The entire Nail cleaner with slanted chisel end hands subtly suggest abhaya-mudra hilt and forte are thickly decorated and carved ivory grip; two bartana or (fingers pointing up, a gesture of with repeating symmetrical floral ivory turban easers, one with finely carved end; sundry needles in corroded peace) and varada-mudra (fingers patterns in gold. condition; and a flat, tapering, blued steel pointing down, a gesture of wish implement with a pierced and shaped head decorated with gold koft work, granting and generosity). She sits The wooden scabbard is covered purpose unknown’. in two scrolling leaves which join by with red silk velvet, pleasingly faded 11. See Elgood, Arms and Armour at the means of a fleur-de-lis to a cypress and worn. It has a pocket containing Jaipur Court, 2015, p.92, no.67. tree leaf which extends down a small watered steel bladed knife the centre of the blade, forming with a cracked agate hilt, a pair of a decorative spine on the sunken steel tweezers decorated in gold, central panel of dark wootz steel. and lastly, a small, bone ear spoon. The cutting edges are polished bright Very few katar scabbards retain their and extend to the armour piercing pockets which were once common, reinforced point. and it is exceedingly rare for them to retain the pocket’s contents.10 The elephants are particularly well formed and although the goddess A similar privately owned katar takes centre stage here, the exquisite known to the author belonged three-dimensional modelling and to a thakur (Lord) from Bikaner contrasting steel and gold decoration state, albeit the decoration is not provide an important focus which elephants, but leogryph. The ‘C’ should not be overlooked. The scrolls that separate the grip bars elephant is considered one of the are usually attributable to Bundi four Indian royal animals (the others where royal patronage encouraged being lion/tiger, the horse and the the production of beautiful katars. bull), and in the Vedas the symbol of However, we have evidence that a royal splendour and the mount of katar with “C” scrolls was made in gods and kings. Jaipur for Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh (1778-1803).11 Object number two in this catalogue shows a katar attributed to royal patronage from Bundi which also uses elephant iconography though not in such a prominent way. 17 4 BEJEWELLED KATAR Sold to a private collector June 2016.