Indo Persian "Cobra" Sword

dralin23 · 19th October 2022, 07:23 AM

many years ago tatyana started a thread in which a cobra sword was presented. i had bought this sword from charles and his description said that the blade is not made of damascus steel as is usual with these swords.
in the subsequent discussion, the question arose as to why this was described in this way, or whether these swords would also be available with damascus blades. jens wrote that he had already seen such a sword and i also know that such a sword was described in the catalog of indian weapons in danish private collections.
here is an example of such a sword. it was recently sold at auction and the blade is made from a very fine wootz steel.
what i particularly like here is the fine gold inlay on the blade disc.
it would be interesting to find out what the writing on the disc means, whether it gives an indication of the year of manufacture and possibly the manufacturer or the owner. maybe someone can decipher that. In any case, it is a very nice example of this type of sword. I think that this is not a battle sword but rather a court sword or was worn with clothing, because I have not yet seen any reference to the use of such swords in old Indian drawings or sculptures. does anyone know more about it?

Jim McDougall · 19th October 2022, 05:53 PM

As the discussion on these began in about 2007 (possibly earlier?) with Tatyana's example then, there has been notable discussion on them but as may be expected, it is hard to reach consensus on such an anomalous sword type. It seems that of course this is a symbolic sword and possibly connected to Hindu kings as referenced in the 'Nujum al Ulum in 16th c.

The Afghan style pommel on these is likely of course to derive from Pathan presence and influences in Kurnool and other minor Afghan principalities in regions and near Hyderabad.
Many of these have striated Vijayanagara type blades, but there are variations obviously for interpretations reflecting Bijapur art styles, Mughal motif and other as these were known in other areas as well as the Deccan.

Therefore it would seem that damascus blades might occur as well as others.

Whatever the case, an amazing example, congratulations Stefan!

kai · 20th October 2022, 08:17 PM

A superb example - congrats, Stefan!

Do I assume correctly that all gold work (on hilt & blade) is koftgari rather than inlay?

Looking forward to learning any insight from the inscriptions! (A good number of overlapping close-ups may help though.)

Regards,
Kai

dralin23 · 21st October 2022, 06:00 AM

hello kai,
yes this i correct, it is not an true inlay work. these goldpattern is an koftgariwork.
i will try to make some better pictures from the disc, maybe someone could read and translate it. it would be very intresting.
thank you!!

19th October 2022, 07:23 AM	#1
dralin23 Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 194	watered steelblades by an cobra sword many years ago tatyana started a thread in which a cobra sword was presented. i had bought this sword from charles and his description said that the blade is not made of damascus steel as is usual with these swords. in the subsequent discussion, the question arose as to why this was described in this way, or whether these swords would also be available with damascus blades. jens wrote that he had already seen such a sword and i also know that such a sword was described in the catalog of indian weapons in danish private collections. here is an example of such a sword. it was recently sold at auction and the blade is made from a very fine wootz steel. what i particularly like here is the fine gold inlay on the blade disc. it would be interesting to find out what the writing on the disc means, whether it gives an indication of the year of manufacture and possibly the manufacturer or the owner. maybe someone can decipher that. In any case, it is a very nice example of this type of sword. I think that this is not a battle sword but rather a court sword or was worn with clothing, because I have not yet seen any reference to the use of such swords in old Indian drawings or sculptures. does anyone know more about it? Attached Images

21st October 2022, 06:00 AM	#4
dralin23 Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 194	hello kai, yes this i correct, it is not an true inlay work. these goldpattern is an koftgariwork. i will try to make some better pictures from the disc, maybe someone could read and translate it. it would be very intresting. thank you!! Attached Images

19th October 2022, 05:53 PM	#2
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,189	As the discussion on these began in about 2007 (possibly earlier?) with Tatyana's example then, there has been notable discussion on them but as may be expected, it is hard to reach consensus on such an anomalous sword type. It seems that of course this is a symbolic sword and possibly connected to Hindu kings as referenced in the 'Nujum al Ulum in 16th c. The Afghan style pommel on these is likely of course to derive from Pathan presence and influences in Kurnool and other minor Afghan principalities in regions and near Hyderabad. Many of these have striated Vijayanagara type blades, but there are variations obviously for interpretations reflecting Bijapur art styles, Mughal motif and other as these were known in other areas as well as the Deccan. Therefore it would seem that damascus blades might occur as well as others. Whatever the case, an amazing example, congratulations Stefan!

20th October 2022, 08:17 PM	#3
kai Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 3,255	A superb example - congrats, Stefan! Do I assume correctly that all gold work (on hilt & blade) is koftgari rather than inlay? Looking forward to learning any insight from the inscriptions! (A good number of overlapping close-ups may help though.) Regards, Kai