Wootz hilted talwar

The ‘Talwar’ or ‘Tulwar’ is a typical sword only found in India. The hilts are known for their disc shaped dome hilts, pronounced langets and quillons. The ‘Talwar’  is noticeable for its curved blade like the Persian ‘Shamsheer‘ and Turkish ‘Kilij’ and originates from around the 16th century. The Islamic hilt style was a popular feature until well in the 20th century. ‘Talwar’ swords of higher quality were carried both as weapon and status symbol. Hilts and scabbards could be decorated with ‘koftgari’ or damascening in gold or silver, made of wootz steel and gold damascened, or even set with precious gem stones. The blades could be locally forged, or imported from Persia with fine contrasting wootz blades.

The hilt:
Of the so called ‘Hakim Shahi’ type, favored in Northern India. The hilt was entirely made of fine wootz steel and decorated with a vivid and crisp gold koftgari decoration decorating the outlines of the hilt. The handle has a medial ridge and the pommel disc is slightly bend, favored on these hilts. The pommel shows an exquisite koftgari decoration of foliage and is altered with stripes.

The blade:
Made of very fine wootz steel in curved Persian style with a yeoman near the tip. The blade shows a fine contrast pattern and scarf weld on a quarter of the blade and was marked with a cartouche with Islamic script, reading an unclear signature which seems to read ‘Jafir’. The cartouche was probably made to mimic a Persian famous blade smith, a practice that often happend. The blade was fitted in the hilt with resin and has a single fuller on both sides. The flat spine shows a Hindi inscription ‘६२’ meaning ’62’ which was probably an inventory number of the owner.

The scabbard:
Consisting of two wooden slabs held together with black leather and brass fittings, lavishly decorated with a chiseled decor of floral motifs in cartouches. The leather seems once replaced and the chape was likely adjusted to fit the sword. It was possible added later to the sword, but fits perfectly.