Left-handed Shamshir
Full Description:
Indian curved swords, particularly shamshirs, would have been worn suspended at the left hip from a belt—the sword’s tip pointing backwards to facilitate an upwards drawing with the right hand. As such, blade markings would face outwards, allowing them to be seen easily. This fine shamshir is unusual, though, as the blade is instead marked on the opposite side meaning suspension from the left hip would obscure the marking—we can surmise then that the sword was intended for a left-handed swordsman.
The slender iron hilt is of a type categorised as being from Sindh, and is covered in lustrous sheet gold with imitation rivets that mimic how pulwars from the surrounding region would have had their blade’s tangs pinned within their hilts. The top and bottom sections of the grip (which on Sindhi hilts are longer and more slender than on types from other areas) are decorated with imitation wrapped wire. A small upturned pommel disk with a domed pommel finishes the ensemble. The blade, of wootz steel, is inlaid in gold with an undeciphered inscription within a cartouche, and a magic square at the base of a flag.