Decoration on Indian hilts

[Jens Nordlunde]

Decoration on Indian hilts have been made in many different ways like, cut in relief, cut in relief and gilded, true damascening (inlay), false damascening (koftgari), gilded and the design removed to be seen in negative, inlaid with stones, enamel and stones and enamel. There are other kinds of decorations, just as there are different kinds of koftgari and four or five different ways to make enamel.
Hilts were either cast or forged. The more complicated hilts in high relief were most likely cast in cire perdu (lost wax), and the less complicated hilts forged.
The design for a hilt was normally chosen at the shop of a gold smith, where a big number of different designs were drawn on palm leaves (true and false damascening) or at the shop of a bracelet maker (enamel).

As enamel most probably is the kind of decoration less known, I will give a few historic data from the book Jeypore Enamels by S.S.Jacob and T.H.Hendley.
In Handbook of the Arts of the Middle Ages, Labarte writes that enamelling most likely has been introduced in Persia around 531 AD, and in Historie de la Chine by Pauthier the author quotes a document in which is stated that a merchant of Youetchi, or Scythia, introduced the art of making glass of different colours into China, in the reign of Thaiwonti about 430 AD. In a museum in Cairo there are some jewels of the Queen Aahhotep, who lived about 1700 BC. They are ornamented with blue glass and a species of cloisonné enamel. These facts seem to indicate a Turanian origin of the art, and there are many points connected with its practice in India, which would appear to confirm the theory. It is remarkable that the best enamellers in Europe have been Etruscan Florentines, and in modern India the Sikhs, both, it has been observed, of Turanian descent.

Amongst the designs used were flowers like, Lotus, Roses, Lilies, Chrysanthemum Indicum, Narcissus, Poppies and others, as well as Peacocks, Cranes, Doves, Parrots, Tigers, Lions and several other animals can be seen.
Flowers are often difficult to recognize when it comes to inlay or koftgari, they can even be so stylized that any recognition is impossible. It is somewhat easier when it comes to enamel decorations where the colours are of great help.

Often you will see, when flowers have been used, that only one type of flower is used for the decoration, sometimes you will see two kind of flowers used, but then normally mixed, more seldom you will see two or more different flowers used, but each flower by itself.

The decoration on the hilt shown is, to the best of my knowledge poppies judging from the leaves.
These were very popular for decoration, and opium very well known in India.
When someone of Royalty was jailed, and the whole thing got a bit embarrassing, he was offered a glass of milk with opium to drink. He did not get anything to eat or drink before the had drunk the milk – so when he died, nobody had killed him – he had taken his own life.