A fine horn and gilt-brass mounted officer's sword (kilij) in the Tipuesque Fashion
India, circa 1800
the single-edged pattern-welded steel blade of curved form with flattened spine, yelman and double-edged section towards point, the gilt-brass crossguard engraved and chased with bubri motifs on a ground of circle motifs, the quillons in the form of tiger paws, the pommel in the form of a tiger head holding a knuckle chain in its open jaws, horn grips secured by three circular gilt-brass pins, the wood scabbard clad in green velvet with mounts decorated en suite with bubri motifs, two suspension loops
91.5 cm. long
Footnotes:
Provenance
Sotheby's, Arts of the Islamic World, 5 October 2011, lot 313.
The Mohammed Khalil Collection.

Published
M. K. Ibrahim, Islamic Arms and Armour, Vol. II, United Arab Emirates, 2022, p. 562, cat. no. 354.

This sword was likely to have been made for an officer who, having failed to acquire a sword from the Seringapatam loot, decided to commission his own using the captured swords for inspiration. An associated sword, also made for a European patron, was sold in these rooms as part of the Tipu Sultan Collection on the 21st of April 2015 (lot 160).
This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: *
* VAT on imported items at a preferential rate of 5% on Hammer Price and the prevailing rate on Buyer's Premium.