An Indian sword from the 17th century

Jens Nordlunde · 4th October 2017, 04:37 PM

In Ethnographic Objects in The Royal Danish Kunstkammer 1650-1800, the sword below is shown on p. 108 as EDb106.
The interesting thing is, that the blade is marked with the Danish Norwegan king Christian V's (r. 1670-1699) coat of arms.
The sword is first seen in the inventory lists from 1739.

G. Mansfield · 4th October 2017, 06:30 PM

We actually had just briefly touched upon this subject in the Cultures and Societies of India Course at the University of Pittsburgh. To my surprise, I did not know that the Kingdoms of Denmark-Norway as so with Sweden possessed small colonies on the Indian subcontinent. This may explain how hybrid models such as these were created pairing the hilts and the blades together, as in this circumstance with King Christian V's coat of arms marker.

Attached below is a starter point link of Danish India if interested in pursuing further knowledge on this topic.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danish_India

Jens Nordlunde · 4th October 2017, 09:31 PM

In the book mentioned there are other pictures/texts from Africa/Arabia/India and Asia - oh, I almost forgot Greenland - sorry.
The interesting thing is, that all the items have been in different inventory lists, so you can be sure of, that they at least at that time were in the Kunstkammer.
It is seldom that you get such a 'precise' dating - which can be trusted.
Btw Denmark and Norway were at the time one kingdom.

4th October 2017, 04:37 PM	#1
Jens Nordlunde Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Europe Posts: 2,718	An Indian sword from the 17th century In Ethnographic Objects in The Royal Danish Kunstkammer 1650-1800, the sword below is shown on p. 108 as EDb106. The interesting thing is, that the blade is marked with the Danish Norwegan king Christian V's (r. 1670-1699) coat of arms. The sword is first seen in the inventory lists from 1739. Attached Images

4th October 2017, 06:30 PM	#2
G. Mansfield Member Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Posts: 83	Dano-Norwegian India We actually had just briefly touched upon this subject in the Cultures and Societies of India Course at the University of Pittsburgh. To my surprise, I did not know that the Kingdoms of Denmark-Norway as so with Sweden possessed small colonies on the Indian subcontinent. This may explain how hybrid models such as these were created pairing the hilts and the blades together, as in this circumstance with King Christian V's coat of arms marker. Attached below is a starter point link of Danish India if interested in pursuing further knowledge on this topic. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danish_India

4th October 2017, 09:31 PM	#3
Jens Nordlunde Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Europe Posts: 2,718	In the book mentioned there are other pictures/texts from Africa/Arabia/India and Asia - oh, I almost forgot Greenland - sorry. The interesting thing is, that all the items have been in different inventory lists, so you can be sure of, that they at least at that time were in the Kunstkammer. It is seldom that you get such a 'precise' dating - which can be trusted. Btw Denmark and Norway were at the time one kingdom.