North Indian wootz Shamshir

A fine ‘talwar‘ hilted ‘shamshir‘ from the North India. The ‘shamshir‘ is of Persian origin and is often referred to as ‘lion claw’ due to its heavy curve representing a claw. The grips vary by region and are traditionally fitted with a pistol grip hilt with horn or ivory slabs, full steel or mounted on an Indian ‘talwar‘ hilt such as our example here.

The large hilt is crafted in the distinctive ‘Karan-shahi’ style, featuring intricate koftgari decoration of foliage typical of Northern Gujarat and Rajasthan. Both the hilt and quillons are adorned with floral motifs interspersed with sunbeams. The pommel disc showcases a similarly rare design, with bold sunbeams, an element often seen in Rajput weaponry, symbolizing reverence for the sun, though it is rarely found in this particular style.

The blade is single edged and made of a fine and consistent wootz steel. The forte bears a punch mark in Devanagari script that is hard to decipher, but seems to read a name and inventory number  ‘1748’ or ‘1948’ which would indicate 1681 or 1981, the letter seems the most plausible.

All together a very fine sword with unusual decoration and a magnificent wootz blade.