Wildly flamboyant katar

wildwolberine · 12th November 2023, 03:07 PM

Curious to know if any forum members ended up with this? This was offered by a local coin shop (I purchased a laguiole knife but was vastly outbid on this) The auction has *ended*. Posting for discussion/reference, not my area of interest. Photos are from the listing.

Jim McDougall · 12th November 2023, 06:15 PM

Aside from seeking the new owner of this amazingly flamboyant version of the Indian katar, it is important to note the character of this weapon in that it is obviously remarkably larger in the blade length as well as it being an undulating style.

The katar and its sword length counterpart, the pata (gauntlet sword) existed contemporarily in India and the hilts are of the same distinct character with the transverse grip.
This version of katar would likely correspond to the classifying term 'bara jamdhar' (Stone, p.93) which means bara= large; jamdhar' tooth of death (the actual proper term for 'katar', via error in Egerton (1885).

Many patah were with open hilt as with this example rather than having the Vijayanagara (S.India) style hood of the longish version of their katars which evolved into the 'gauntlet' type hilt.

The undulating blade on this example suggests it was fashioned more for court type wear, as an elaborate display of the armorers skills and key to the representations of the most important Islamic swords.
There is distinct probability this example might have been from the 'Durbar period' in India (1870s-1911) where these ceremonial gatherings of the British Raj brought together personages from many of the princely states for important events, typically Royal accession to the British throne. In these the armorers of many regions brought their wares to show their skills as well as offering many items to 'souvenir' hunters in the bazaars surrounding.

12th November 2023, 03:07 PM	#1
wildwolberine Member Join Date: May 2023 Location: San Antonio Posts: 110	Wildly flamboyant katar Curious to know if any forum members ended up with this? This was offered by a local coin shop (I purchased a laguiole knife but was vastly outbid on this) The auction has ended. Posting for discussion/reference, not my area of interest. Photos are from the listing. Attached Images

12th November 2023, 06:15 PM	#2
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 9,946	Aside from seeking the new owner of this amazingly flamboyant version of the Indian katar, it is important to note the character of this weapon in that it is obviously remarkably larger in the blade length as well as it being an undulating style. The katar and its sword length counterpart, the pata (gauntlet sword) existed contemporarily in India and the hilts are of the same distinct character with the transverse grip. This version of katar would likely correspond to the classifying term 'bara jamdhar' (Stone, p.93) which means bara= large; jamdhar' tooth of death (the actual proper term for 'katar', via error in Egerton (1885). Many patah were with open hilt as with this example rather than having the Vijayanagara (S.India) style hood of the longish version of their katars which evolved into the 'gauntlet' type hilt. The undulating blade on this example suggests it was fashioned more for court type wear, as an elaborate display of the armorers skills and key to the representations of the most important Islamic swords. There is distinct probability this example might have been from the 'Durbar period' in India (1870s-1911) where these ceremonial gatherings of the British Raj brought together personages from many of the princely states for important events, typically Royal accession to the British throne. In these the armorers of many regions brought their wares to show their skills as well as offering many items to 'souvenir' hunters in the bazaars surrounding.