26 November 2025–22 March 2026
Free Display
Housekeeper's Room

Discover swords of Lucknow in our free display.

Nearly a metre long and richly decorated with enamel and gold, these five swords revealed the splendour of eighteenth and nineteenth century Lucknow, a flourishing centre of power, artistry and cultural exchange.

They reflected the court of the Nawabs of Awadh, rulers of Iranian Shia heritage who presided over a diverse population and fostered a culture of luxury and ceremony. Swords such as these signified prestige, loyalty and masculine identity, serving as status symbols as well as weapons, and were also exchanged as diplomatic gifts.

Acquired by Sir Richard Wallace and the 4th Marquess of Hertford in the later nineteenth century, these swords also told a story of European collecting at a time when military officers and dealers brought South Asian arms to the market.

This free display reinterpreted part of the museum's Asian, African and Ottoman collections, informed by new research for a catalogue published in February 2026.