Camel Head Hilted Wootz sword
 

Hi all

I just closed a deal on a real nice wootz sword the hilt has very nice gold koftgari and the camel head has some semi precious stones in the eyes and mouth bit. The blade is wootz with the makers name written in Arabic script. Your comments would be very helpful.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...es/India02.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...es/India05.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...es/India04.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...s/India032.jpg


Thanks

Lew

You're a tease, Lew. ;) Got pix?

URL'S are attached see top posting.


Lew

I think I saw bundles of these in a tourist shop in Karachi :-)
(just kidding). A very nice looking sword.

Rich S

Hi Lew,

Beautiful sword, congrats! Did the seller tell you anything about it? Any provenance?

The blade looks older than the handle and cartouche. Is it possible the gold work has been "freshened"?

Best,
Andrew

Now that's just wrong, Rich .... :p

Gorgeous blade, but I feel the hilt is either a new replacement, or a has been heavily refurbished recently. Is a camel motif typically Indian??

Charles

The gold seems to have been redone but I see some wear in some spots so it can't be that recent a job probably done some years ago but will inspect it more closely when it arrives.

Lew

Nice!
The hatching for the cartouch on the blade is very well done ; a sign of quality .

I've got to start playing the lottery .

Charles, yes the camel is seen on Indian hilts - not often, but it is seen.

Nice sword you got. I too think the hilt may be newer, but the design fits to the blade.

I suspect that this is a composite piece but one made from nice parts. The wootz looks great and the blade has a nice profile and arc and really seems to be a quality blade. The handle is a style more typically seen on daggers and on occasion swords. However, in either case, they are not seen with a knucklebow. I suspect the camel pommel and the knuckle bow are later additions to this grip. I would look closely but I believe they are add on's. The camel pommel seems slightly off the handle in the picture, as far as it does not sit flush. The coloration of the metal on the camel and knucklebow varies a fair bit from the handle and I suspect they are from different sources put together. The koftgari on the hilt and the arabic script is quite nice. The blade looks as though it originally had a different hilt style. You can see where the wootz blade has been welded to the tang. Not uncommon but typically this joint would be hidden by the langets of a cross guard or sometimes with koftgari. The fact it is so visible makes me suspect this blade had a different hilting originally.

I think you can't go wrong with a great wootz blade but hopefully it was not sold as an antique or original antique because from the pictures it has a composite feel made from old and new parts.

Hi All

I decided against buying the sword based on information I received from other collectors.


Thanks for the feedback

Lew