Karud dagger with unusual chased scabbard

ariel · 4th December 2022, 10:51 PM

Practice of "pretty-fying" weapons is well-known. For example, khans and emirs of Central Asia sent presents to the Russian Tsars: just a garden varieties of good, often wootz, daggers from India, Persia or Afghanistan were embellished with enormous amouns of gold, new gold scabbards with gems etc. They thought that kitsch was a good thing for a Royal Present:-)

And yes, Nepalese warriors used tulwars and katars. This is not surprising taking into account that Rajputs immigrated to Nepal as early as 13 century and from there on, evading Muslim persecutions. They brought with them their weapons. But I completely agree with Mahratt that there is no good evidence of "karuds" use in Nepal. I am also very doubtful that the Chinese example can serve as a positive evidence of anything. IMHO, it is a very pretty-fied garden variety Central Asian karud.

I still think that there is a stark contrast between the simplicity and crudeness of the dagger itself and the elaborate scabbard. Scabbards in general had a much shorter life span than the blades and most of the old bladed weapons are on their second ( third, fourth...) scabbard. In short, my guess you got yourself a pretty old Central Asian "karud" with an old replacement scabbard.

But after all, as a rule photos allow only very superficial assessment. Only having the actual example allows the new owner to reach valid conclusions.

Overall, you got yourself a very nice new toy. Enjoy it!

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4th December 2022, 10:51 PM	#6
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	Practice of "pretty-fying" weapons is well-known. For example, khans and emirs of Central Asia sent presents to the Russian Tsars: just a garden varieties of good, often wootz, daggers from India, Persia or Afghanistan were embellished with enormous amouns of gold, new gold scabbards with gems etc. They thought that kitsch was a good thing for a Royal Present:-) And yes, Nepalese warriors used tulwars and katars. This is not surprising taking into account that Rajputs immigrated to Nepal as early as 13 century and from there on, evading Muslim persecutions. They brought with them their weapons. But I completely agree with Mahratt that there is no good evidence of "karuds" use in Nepal. I am also very doubtful that the Chinese example can serve as a positive evidence of anything. IMHO, it is a very pretty-fied garden variety Central Asian karud. I still think that there is a stark contrast between the simplicity and crudeness of the dagger itself and the elaborate scabbard. Scabbards in general had a much shorter life span than the blades and most of the old bladed weapons are on their second ( third, fourth...) scabbard. In short, my guess you got yourself a pretty old Central Asian "karud" with an old replacement scabbard. But after all, as a rule photos allow only very superficial assessment. Only having the actual example allows the new owner to reach valid conclusions. Overall, you got yourself a very nice new toy. Enjoy it!