Location: Awadh

Date: Late 18th or early 19th century

Materials: Sword: watered steel, walrus ivory, gold, copper, onyx, pearl, paste and metal thread, Scabbard: wood, leather, gold, ruby, pearl, paste and metal thread, 91.9 cm

Inv No: OA1404

In 1865, this sword was displayed at the Musée Rétrospectif in Paris as part of 160 items loaned to the exhibition by the 4th Marquess of Hertford. The exhibition catalogue listed the sword as having belonged to ‘Runjet-Singh’ (cat no 6162). The sword’s rich decoration and exceptional quality also suggest courtly patronage. The hilt is carved from walrus ivory, which was rarer and more expensive than elephant ivory. The golden pommel and guard terminals are shaped as nilgai, an antelope native to South Asia. Zoomorphic imagery figured prominently in North Indian princely weapons and a portrait of Ranjit Singh, now in the Toor Collection, portrays the ruler with an animal-headed hilt at his waist.

The straps and scabbard are embellished with a mix of seed pearls, rubies and glass beads. Further gold decorations can be found on the chape of the scabbard and a tiger sits proudly at the centre of the cross guard.

The blade is forged from ‘wootz steel’, often referred to as ‘watered steel’ for its wave-like pattern. Only the finest swordsmiths were capable of achieving such a distinctive pattern from the steel and the outlines on this example are exceptionally well-preserved.

The fish-shaped fittings suggest Awadh as the likely place of production, the fish being a symbol of the court established there. Swords circulated readily within the North Indian courts and were also exchanged as gifts.

Examples of swords from Awadh bearing fish fittings on their scabbards are also present in the Wallace Collection. The closest comparison to the present sword is found in the Royal Armouries; its pommel, although enamelled, is also fashioned in the shape of a nilgai (XXVIS.7).