European blades in India

[dralin23]

hi guys,( and girls..Tatyana)
here are one of my latest purchases. it is one of the swords form the wagner collection. an very beautifull katar sword with an phantastic solingen blade. it was an very old dream from me to own some time such an sword. the blade was marked at the one side with " in solingen" and at the other side with the name
" knegt" i asked in the solingen sword museum for more informations about these smith. they answerd me that these sword comes from an old solingen swordmakerfamily. one member of these familiy was Peter Knecht who worked in the middle of the 17th. ct. and the signature and the pattern form these sword show all features that it comes from these date and also maybe from these important smith.
for me it is unbelievable that these blades find in these time the way to india. it would be intrested to know how much was the price for such an blade in germany in these time and what was the value for the same blade in india.

[Jens Nordlunde]

Congratulations :-)
I am glad that you got it - and I am only a wee bit envious - but only a bit :-).

It is a great piece, and as katars are close to my heart, I do understand why you bought it :-).

Very good pictures btw.

Jens

[ariel]

Beautiful! Do not know how much you paid for it, but it is worth every penny.
Enjoy it!!!

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by dralin23

hi guys,( and girls..Tatyana)
here are one of my latest purchases. it is one of the swords form the wagner collection. an very beautifull katar sword with an phantastic solingen blade. it was an very old dream from me to own some time such an sword. the blade was marked at the one side with " in solingen" and at the other side with the name
" knegt" i asked in the solingen sword museum for more informations about these smith. they answerd me that these sword comes from an old solingen swordmakerfamily. one member of these familiy was Peter Knecht who worked in the middle of the 17th. ct. and the signature and the pattern form these sword show all features that it comes from these date and also maybe from these important smith.
for me it is unbelievable that these blades find in these time the way to india. it would be intrested to know how much was the price for such an blade in germany in these time and what was the value for the same blade in india.

Dralin, this is one of the most enticing examples I have seen in some time of these Indian katar/swords with this example seeming to correspond to Deccani forms (naturally I would defer to Jens for more accurate details) .
It seems to be most unusual for these to be open with arm bands rather than with the gauntlet typical of pata.

I am most curious about the information from Solingen on the Knecht attribution to 17th century. All the resources I have (Gardner, Boeheim, Demmin, Kinman, Wallace Coll, Bezdek et al) indicate the earliest Knecht was c. 1770 in Solingen, and Wallace Coll. shows (p. 268) that the family were trading in swords rather than mfg them.
However, in my opinion the name stamp and accompanying marks including the anchor and others including IN SOLINGEN, look very much 17th century .
Therefore perhaps this blade is to an unrecorded (at least in the sources I note) example of this maker.

It is known that in the early 17th century the Indian market was profoundly inundated with European blades, with other Solingen examples such as the well known ANDREA FERARA represented at confirmed dates c. 1620s so this may be a most important blade, the magnificent example it is mounted in not withstanding!!

Very well done Dralin, congratulations, and thank you for a most valuable entry and sharing it here with us!

All best regards
Jim

[estcrh]

Originally Posted by Jim McDougall

Dralin, this is one of the most enticing examples I have seen in some time of these Indian katar/swords with this example seeming to correspond to Deccani forms (naturally I would defer to Jens for more accurate details) .
It seems to be most unusual for these to be open with arm bands rather than with the gauntlet typical of pata.

Jim, I was wondering if the "arm bands" may have been added at a later date? The hilt as well could be older than the blade as in this type of katar existing blades could be easily removed and a new one inserted as the blade is just riveted in place. A very nice example though.

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by estcrh

Jim, I was wondering of the "arm bands" may have been added at a later date? The hilt as well could be older than the blade as in this type of katar existing blades could be easily removed and a new one inserted as the blade is just riveted in place. A very nice example though.

Well observed !! and absolutely that may be the case, and I remain perplexed at this inscription .
Even looking at the Wallace Collection catalog, there are many very old hilts paired with later blades, lending to the idea of either heirloom hilts being refurbished with newer blades or any number of ersatz possibilities.

[estcrh]

How long is your katar?

[Jens Nordlunde]

I doubt that the hilt is older than the blade, to my opinion it is rather the opposite.
The 'arm bands' could very well be added later, and would have added a lot to the stability when the sword was used.

What would interest me to know is, if the seller told from where in India the sword came, and why he thinks so?

Jens

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by Jens Nordlunde

I doubt that the hilt is older than the blade, to my opinion it is rather the opposite.
The 'arm bands' could very well be added later, and would have added a lot to the stability when the sword was used.

What would interest me to know is, if the seller told from where in India the sword came, and why he thinks so?

Jens

Well noted Jens, and as you say, it makes good sense that if this katar hilt was to have a full length sword blade, then the arm bands would be essential. In the pata, these same kinds of bands are riveted at the top of the hilt to secure the forearm, while the hand holds the transverse grip.

[estcrh]

Originally Posted by Jens Nordlunde

I doubt that the hilt is older than the blade, to my opinion it is rather the opposite.

You would have a better idea about this than I do. I was just assuming that the hilt was not originally made for this blade which may have been added at a later date. As you say, the blade may actually be older than the hilt.

[Miguel]

Originally Posted by Jens Nordlunde

I doubt that the hilt is older than the blade, to my opinion it is rather the opposite.
The 'arm bands' could very well be added later, and would have added a lot to the stability when the sword was used.

What would interest me to know is, if the seller told from where in India the sword came, and why he thinks so?

Jens

Having looked at various designs of Katar hilts I think that this hilt may well be a 17th C one and that the forearm support bands rather than being an add on are a replacement for the original bands which would have been of a finer quality than the ones shown fitted now. Just a thought.
Miguel

[fernando]

Originally Posted by dralin23

... it was an very old dream from me to own some time such an sword...

I have never dreamed of this rather spetacular example, but i wouldn't mind being awake while having it with me .

[Ian]

Thanks to Fernando, a PDF file of Robert Elgood's article that was mentioned earlier in this thread is now available via the Classics Thread at the top of the Ethnographic Arms and Armor Home Page. Click on Classics, scroll down to the bottom of the list, click on the link and you will find the PDF file in the first post.

Or just click here if you want to go to Fernando's post directly http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...808#post197808

Ian.

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by Ian

Thanks to Fernando, a PDF file of Robert Elgood's article that was mentioned earlier in this thread is now available via the Classics Thread at the top of the Ethnographic Arms and Armor Home Page. Click on Classics, scroll down to the bottom of the list, click on the link and you will find the PDF file in the first post.

Or just click here if you want to go to Fernando's post directly http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...808#post197808

Ian.

Fernando, thank you very much for placement of this most valuable article and the cross references. It is great to see these kinds of details being situated in a research oriented system here, and know that these resources and our archived threads may be relied upon in future researches.