Antique Art & Weaponry, September 30th, 2023
Lot 427:
Extremely Rare Important Mughal Indian Shamshir Sword Belonged to TIPU SULTAN with Exclusive Tiger Stripes Designs & Hilt Decorations ~ Museum Worthy Example. ~~~ A SWORD of TIPU SULTAN A Magnificent, Fresh to the Market, Fighting Sword of Tipu Sultan, dating to the late 18th. Century. Tipu Sultan(1750-1799) was the Ruler of Mysore and died at the hands of the British at the siege of his Capital Seringapatam in 1799. The Sword, 88.9cm in length sheathed, is likely the product of Tipus Ateliers at Seringapatam Armory Workshops and replete with the iconography and spirit of the ”Tiger of Mysore”. The Zoomorphic Hilt, cast in bronze is surmounted by a Tigers Head finely chased and engraved with a fierce expression. The artisan has incorporated an articulated tongue attached to the bail. The grip is octagonal in form, decorated in the ”Bubri” Tiger Stripe pattern indicative of Tipu, and considered the Royal Mark of the Sultan. The Quillions flow outward and terminate in finally detailed tigers paws, even the undersides of which received special attention to detail in their lifelike portrayal. The guard then flows down midsection and terminates in ogival pointed langets. Over all the Hilt exhibits roughly 50% of heavy gold finish remaining with large amounts extant in the recesses. The Heirloom Blade is Indian in manufacture and of pattern welded Damascus steel. The blade is 75.5cm in length and is Shamshir in form bearing a sharpened back edge, or Yelman at the fore. Likely a trophy won in battle, the blade dates from a slightly earlier era and bears an oval cartouche, inlaid with gold stating in Persian(The Court Language of the Muslim Principalities of India)-” Yaadgaar E Nawab Sarfaraz Ud-Dawala Mirza Hassan Reza Khan Bahadur” – ”Be it Remembered(Friendship)by this Gift from Nawab Sarfaraz Al-Dawala to Mirza Hassan Raza Khan Bahadur”. Safaraz Al-Dawala 1700-1740, was Ruler of Bengal in the early 18th. Century. Contemporaneously, Mirza Hassan Reza Khan Bahadur was Ruler of Murshidabad. The finely crafted scabbard wears a covering of greenish black leather with gold embossed Bubri stripes over a wooden core, mounted with three heavily gilt bronze fittings, again chased and engraved with the Royal Bubri en suite with the rest of the weapon. A rare find in private hands and an unknown addition to the weapons of the ”Tiger of Mysore”. The sword offered here has many, if not all the identifying features of known Tipu swords, ie – Tiger head pommel, an octagonal grip, finely detailed Tiger paw qullions with attention to the undersides and the Royal Bubri, with which, this example is so richly decorated. The Recent history of this piece starts in 1968 when it was purchased in Portland Oregon, the Family associated with it were English in origin. The name associated with the Sword was Aytone/Smith. There is a Captain David Aytone, 74th. Regiment in British Army Records listed as having been wounded at Seringapatam in 1799. Please see Runjeet Singh, sold inventory-019, Sothebys Sale of May 2005-The Widgington Collection, Bonhams Sale April, 2015, the Clive Sword in the British Museum and the Tipu Sword in the Royal Collections at Windsor. By descent in the Aytone/Smith Family England, arrived United States in 1902, Sold 1968, Portland Oregon- Private US Collection. Sold 2020, – The Property of a Gentleman. Total length (inside scabbard if present) : 35" , Blade length : 29 1/2".~~. Detailed condition reports are not included in this catalog. For additional information, including condition reports, please contact us at [email protected]
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