Chowmahalla Palace Arms Collection

Emanuel · 29th April 2012, 05:36 PM

Hi everyone,
I had the chance to visit the Chowmahalla Palace in Hyderabad, India today and I thought I'd share some of the pics. The palace is essentially a summer pavilion, very nicely built. It has a small collection of furniture and personal objects on display, nothing exciting. I walked quickly through it, passed a little door, through a narrow corridor, into two very large rooms with an orgy of Indo-Persian weaponry. Enjoy!!

Emanuel

Emanuel · 29th April 2012, 05:41 PM

And the good stuff...

Emanuel · 29th April 2012, 05:42 PM

2

Emanuel · 29th April 2012, 05:44 PM

3

Emanuel · 29th April 2012, 05:47 PM

4

Emanuel · 29th April 2012, 05:51 PM

5

Emanuel · 29th April 2012, 05:54 PM

Last one

Emanuel · 29th April 2012, 05:58 PM

What is quite fascinating is the sheer range of styles. Hyderabad's Nizam collected from all over the sub-continent. The high number of straight tulwars is also interesting.

With the exception of the chain mail and the "cobra" blade none of this stuff was labelled. The exhibition method is also weird. Everything in glass boxes up on the high walls. it was very difficult to get good shots and impossible to do close-ups without a tripod and with all the light reflections.

So it's all eye-candy, what you see is what I saw.

Next up is the Salar Jung Museum here in the city, which is said to boast one of the largest arms collections in the world.

Stay tuned...

Emanuel

Ibrahiim al Balooshi · 29th April 2012, 06:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Emanuel

What is quite fascinating is the sheer range of styles. Hyderabad's Nizam collected from all over the sub-continent. The high number of straight tulwars is also interesting.

With the exception of the chain mail and the "cobra" blade none of this stuff was labelled. The exhibition method is also weird. Everything in glass boxes up on the high walls. it was very difficult to get good shots and impossible to do close-ups without a tripod and with all the light reflections.

So it's all eye-candy, what you see is what I saw.

Next up is the Salar Jung Museum here in the city, which is said to boast one of the largest arms collections in the world.

Stay tuned...

Emanuel

Salaams Emanuel ~ Stunning ... Brilliant ! Well done in cataloguing that for the forum library... The only museum in the world where you need a telescopic lens or a 30 foot ladder to see the exhibits!

It is quite amazing that a lot of these museums have unlabelled work and none have heard of interactive displays... At least there were a few with descriptions ... but looking at the depth of stuff up the walls it is an incredible collection.

Regards,
Ibrahim al Balooshi.

Stan S. · 29th April 2012, 08:59 PM

O! M! G!

I think I just died and went to heaven! Best post evar!!!

Such a shame that in all of my visits to India I never made it to Hydrebad

Atlantia · 29th April 2012, 09:03 PM

Wow!
Thanks for sharing Emanuel.

Ferguson · 30th April 2012, 02:07 AM

Simply stunning. Thank you!
Steve

Berkley · 30th April 2012, 03:11 AM

Thank you very much for taking so many excellent photos under difficult circumstances, and for sharing them with us.

Battara · 30th April 2012, 03:40 AM

Great stuff thanks!

Robert · 30th April 2012, 04:00 AM

I too must say thank you for taking and sharing these wonderful photos.

Robert

Gavin Nugent · 30th April 2012, 05:03 AM

HOLY SMOKES!!!!

Awesome presentation, thank you!

Off to the classics I hope!

With thanks

Gav

bhushan_lawate · 30th April 2012, 05:18 AM

Hey,

One interesting fact of this museum is the high number of watered blades too...!!!!

The thing I hate about these museum's is most of the swords/daggers displayed are with their scabbard on ...you cannot enjoy seeing them at your fullest...!!!!!!

@ Emanuel: Don't have toooo high hopes about the Salar Jung for they have a good collection of arms but only a few are displayed...!!!!

The best thing to watch out for there is the sheer number of daggers in different colors of Jade hilts and archer rings...!!!!

But you cant take snaps there...!!!!

Also visit the State archaeology museum near the Public gardens...some good arms out there toooo...

Lets catch up sometime while you are still in Hyderabad...there are some arms displayed from relic finds in Golconda and Qutub Shahi tombs too.

Regards,
Bhushan

DhaDha · 30th April 2012, 06:00 AM

Wow. Thanks for sharing!

Emanuel · 30th April 2012, 07:15 AM

Glad you like the show

Yes many of these blades were indeed very beautiful wootz. It was too hard to photograph the patterns though. To its credit the display room did have an information poster about "watered steel". I also thought it a good thing that they presented the sword typologies/nomenclature.

One interesting thing concerning the karud/pesh-kabz with quartz handle - notice there is no tang, the blade simply attached at the top of the handle. Obviously not meant for use, despite the T-spine blade. I remember seeing similar daggers with ivory hilts and stub tangs.

I thought the huge khukri blade with khanda hilt very interesting, and the monstrous zulfikar blades are pretty cool. A very nice collection overall.

Bhushan, sure thing! I'll be in touch.

E

spiral · 30th April 2012, 09:28 AM

Wow! What an amazing collection, Thank you Emmanuel for taking the time to do this.

Spiral

Nathaniel · 30th April 2012, 09:26 PM

Awesome! It's like Disney Land for Adults!!!

AJ1356 · 1st May 2012, 04:36 PM

Beautiful items thanks for taking the pictures and sharing them.

A.alnakkas · 1st May 2012, 04:42 PM

Very nice! thanks Emanuel!

One of the swords with cartouches has a date... 932 Hijri! nice.

dbhmgb · 1st May 2012, 05:26 PM

WOW! Fascinating post - you are most fortunate to have enjoyed this in person!

Dan

Sajen · 1st May 2012, 05:50 PM

Thank you very much for sharing!

Henk · 1st May 2012, 08:35 PM

You must have had a very exciting day over there , Emanuel. Must have been the best day of your holiday so far. Thanks for sharing this.

Emanuel · 2nd May 2012, 06:53 AM

Glad you guys like them

Abdullatif that's why I took the picture of the swords with cartouches, I was hoping someone would catch the dates

1525 though strikes me as too early for such a piece.

Actually I was at the Palace for only about an hour before closing so I was frantically trying to take the pictures before getting kicked out. I'm here in Hyderabad with work so Sundays are really the only time for exploration.

More to come next week!

mrcjgscott · 17th May 2012, 12:05 AM

Hello Emanuel,

Many thanks indeed for taking the time to post such a beautiful selection. Hopefully one day I can see them in person!

Chris

Emanuel · 18th May 2012, 11:04 AM

Well folks, I had hoped to show you more from the Salar Jung Museum but sadly they did not allow entry with cameras.

The museum is undergoing total renovation so things were a mess, but the arms actually on display were quite nice.

A fair number of swords of all kinds, unfortunately all of them in scabbard. The collection has a huge number of jade-hilted daggers of all kinds. Jade + gems + gold/silver + enamel, lots of it. A good number of rock crystal handles as well. Invariably these daggers do not have tangs. The blades might be amazing, but such knives were purely ornamental.

Another interesting thing is this "monstrous" zhulfiqar-type tulwar with serrated edges. When it first came up on the forum, it was opined that, based on the hilt, it might be an 18th century type, but that the blade might be later 19th century. In the pictures above (post #7) you can see two identical pieces from the Chowmahalla Palace collection. I saw two more, nearly identical at the Salar Jung museum, with the same beefy tips and serrations, with matched khanda basket hilt and blade. So we have four examples in Hyderabad, where they enjoyed some popularity with both the Nizams and their prime ministers (salar jungs).

Has anyone seen them elsewhere in India? Could these be a native Deccani type, or were these collected as curiosities by the Hyderabadi rulers? Upon re-reading the old "Monstrous..." thread I see that Jim's nickel is very well placed, as usual

. B.I. considered the handle of southern style but couldn't reconcile the Islamic zhulfiqar symbology with the Deccan. Hyderabad seems to fit the bill.

Emanuel

TimW · 18th May 2012, 11:06 AM

Now i know where all the good stuff is hidden...

29th April 2012, 05:36 PM	#1
Emanuel Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 1,242	Chowmahalla Palace Arms Collection Hi everyone, I had the chance to visit the Chowmahalla Palace in Hyderabad, India today and I thought I'd share some of the pics. The palace is essentially a summer pavilion, very nicely built. It has a small collection of furniture and personal objects on display, nothing exciting. I walked quickly through it, passed a little door, through a narrow corridor, into two very large rooms with an orgy of Indo-Persian weaponry. Enjoy!! Emanuel Attached Images Last edited by Emanuel; 29th April 2012 at 06:12 PM.

29th April 2012, 05:41 PM	#2
Emanuel Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 1,242	And the good stuff... Attached Images

29th April 2012, 05:42 PM	#3
Emanuel Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 1,242	2 Attached Images

29th April 2012, 05:44 PM	#4
Emanuel Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 1,242	3 Attached Images

29th April 2012, 05:47 PM	#5
Emanuel Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 1,242	4 Attached Images

29th April 2012, 05:51 PM	#6
Emanuel Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 1,242	5 Attached Images

29th April 2012, 05:54 PM	#7
Emanuel Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 1,242	Last one Attached Images

29th April 2012, 05:58 PM	#8
Emanuel Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 1,242	What is quite fascinating is the sheer range of styles. Hyderabad's Nizam collected from all over the sub-continent. The high number of straight tulwars is also interesting. With the exception of the chain mail and the "cobra" blade none of this stuff was labelled. The exhibition method is also weird. Everything in glass boxes up on the high walls. it was very difficult to get good shots and impossible to do close-ups without a tripod and with all the light reflections. So it's all eye-candy, what you see is what I saw. Next up is the Salar Jung Museum here in the city, which is said to boast one of the largest arms collections in the world. Stay tuned... Emanuel

29th April 2012, 08:59 PM	#10
Stan S. Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Brooklyn, NY USA Posts: 227	O! M! G! I think I just died and went to heaven! Best post evar!!! Such a shame that in all of my visits to India I never made it to Hydrebad

29th April 2012, 09:03 PM	#11
Atlantia Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: The Sharp end Posts: 2,928	Wow! Thanks for sharing Emanuel.

30th April 2012, 02:07 AM	#12
Ferguson Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Kernersville, NC, USA Posts: 793	Simply stunning. Thank you! Steve

30th April 2012, 03:11 AM	#13
Berkley Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Austin, Texas USA Posts: 257	Thank you very much for taking so many excellent photos under difficult circumstances, and for sharing them with us.

30th April 2012, 03:40 AM	#14
Battara EAAF Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 7,219	Great stuff thanks!

30th April 2012, 04:00 AM	#15
Robert EAAF Staff Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Centerville, Kansas Posts: 2,196	I too must say thank you for taking and sharing these wonderful photos. Robert

30th April 2012, 05:03 AM	#16
Gavin Nugent Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 2,818	HOLY SMOKES!!!! Awesome presentation, thank you! Off to the classics I hope! With thanks Gav

30th April 2012, 05:18 AM	#17
bhushan_lawate Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: India Posts: 77	Hey, One interesting fact of this museum is the high number of watered blades too...!!!! The thing I hate about these museum's is most of the swords/daggers displayed are with their scabbard on ...you cannot enjoy seeing them at your fullest...!!!!!! @ Emanuel: Don't have toooo high hopes about the Salar Jung for they have a good collection of arms but only a few are displayed...!!!! The best thing to watch out for there is the sheer number of daggers in different colors of Jade hilts and archer rings...!!!! But you cant take snaps there...!!!! Also visit the State archaeology museum near the Public gardens...some good arms out there toooo... Lets catch up sometime while you are still in Hyderabad...there are some arms displayed from relic finds in Golconda and Qutub Shahi tombs too. Regards, Bhushan

30th April 2012, 06:00 AM	#18
DhaDha Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 165	Wow. Thanks for sharing!

30th April 2012, 07:15 AM	#19
Emanuel Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 1,242	Glad you like the show Yes many of these blades were indeed very beautiful wootz. It was too hard to photograph the patterns though. To its credit the display room did have an information poster about "watered steel". I also thought it a good thing that they presented the sword typologies/nomenclature. One interesting thing concerning the karud/pesh-kabz with quartz handle - notice there is no tang, the blade simply attached at the top of the handle. Obviously not meant for use, despite the T-spine blade. I remember seeing similar daggers with ivory hilts and stub tangs. I thought the huge khukri blade with khanda hilt very interesting, and the monstrous zulfikar blades are pretty cool. A very nice collection overall. Bhushan, sure thing! I'll be in touch. E

30th April 2012, 09:28 AM	#20
spiral Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 1,712	Wow! What an amazing collection, Thank you Emmanuel for taking the time to do this. Spiral

30th April 2012, 09:26 PM	#21
Nathaniel Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 865	Awesome! It's like Disney Land for Adults!!!

1st May 2012, 04:36 PM	#22
AJ1356 Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Nashville Posts: 314	Beautiful items thanks for taking the pictures and sharing them.

1st May 2012, 04:42 PM	#23
A.alnakkas Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Kuwait Posts: 1,340	Very nice! thanks Emanuel! One of the swords with cartouches has a date... 932 Hijri! nice.

1st May 2012, 05:26 PM	#24
dbhmgb Member Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Maryland, USA Posts: 112	WOW! Fascinating post - you are most fortunate to have enjoyed this in person! Dan

1st May 2012, 05:50 PM	#25
Sajen Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Germany, Dortmund Posts: 8,779	Thank you very much for sharing!

1st May 2012, 08:35 PM	#26
Henk Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 1,209	You must have had a very exciting day over there , Emanuel. Must have been the best day of your holiday so far. Thanks for sharing this.

2nd May 2012, 06:53 AM	#27
Emanuel Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 1,242	Glad you guys like them Abdullatif that's why I took the picture of the swords with cartouches, I was hoping someone would catch the dates 1525 though strikes me as too early for such a piece. Actually I was at the Palace for only about an hour before closing so I was frantically trying to take the pictures before getting kicked out. I'm here in Hyderabad with work so Sundays are really the only time for exploration. More to come next week!

17th May 2012, 12:05 AM	#28
mrcjgscott Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Posts: 189	Hello Emanuel, Many thanks indeed for taking the time to post such a beautiful selection. Hopefully one day I can see them in person! Chris

18th May 2012, 11:04 AM	#29
Emanuel Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 1,242	Well folks, I had hoped to show you more from the Salar Jung Museum but sadly they did not allow entry with cameras. The museum is undergoing total renovation so things were a mess, but the arms actually on display were quite nice. A fair number of swords of all kinds, unfortunately all of them in scabbard. The collection has a huge number of jade-hilted daggers of all kinds. Jade + gems + gold/silver + enamel, lots of it. A good number of rock crystal handles as well. Invariably these daggers do not have tangs. The blades might be amazing, but such knives were purely ornamental. Another interesting thing is this "monstrous" zhulfiqar-type tulwar with serrated edges. When it first came up on the forum, it was opined that, based on the hilt, it might be an 18th century type, but that the blade might be later 19th century. In the pictures above (post #7) you can see two identical pieces from the Chowmahalla Palace collection. I saw two more, nearly identical at the Salar Jung museum, with the same beefy tips and serrations, with matched khanda basket hilt and blade. So we have four examples in Hyderabad, where they enjoyed some popularity with both the Nizams and their prime ministers (salar jungs). Has anyone seen them elsewhere in India? Could these be a native Deccani type, or were these collected as curiosities by the Hyderabadi rulers? Upon re-reading the old "Monstrous..." thread I see that Jim's nickel is very well placed, as usual . B.I. considered the handle of southern style but couldn't reconcile the Islamic zhulfiqar symbology with the Deccan. Hyderabad seems to fit the bill. Emanuel Attached Images Last edited by Emanuel; 18th May 2012 at 11:14 AM.

18th May 2012, 11:06 AM	#30
TimW Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 54	Now i know where all the good stuff is hidden...