Lot 37

EARLY 19TH CENTURY INDIAN TALWAR SWORD W SCABBARD

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EARLY 19TH CENTURY INDIAN TALWAR SWORD W SCABBARD

Estimate: $200 - $400

Starting Bid: $100

(0 Bids)

by Milestone Auctions
August 1, 2026 10:00 AM EDT
Live Auction
38198 Willoughby Parkway
Willoughby, OH, US 44094

Impressive Talwar iron disc hilt and knuckle bow, and a fullered blade. measuring 35 1/2 inches 30 1/2 inch curved blade. Comes with a red painted wood scabbard. Etymology and classification: The word talwar originated from the Sanskrit word taravari which means "one-edged sword".[2] It is the word for sword in several related languages, such as Hindustani (Hindi and Urdu), Nepali, Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi, etc. and as toloar (talo?ara) in Bengali. Like many swords from around the world with an etymology derived from a term meaning simply 'sword', the talwar has in scholarship, and in museum and collector usage, acquired a more specific meaning. However, South Asian swords, while showing a rich diversity of forms, suffer from relatively poor dating (so developmental history is obscure) and a lack of precise nomenclature and classification. The typical talwar is a type of sabre, characterised by a curved blade (without the radical curve of some Persian swords), possessing an all-metal hilt with integral quillons and a disc-shaped pommel. This type of hilt is sometimes called the 'Indo-Muslim hilt', or 'standard Indian hilt'. Talwars possessing only slightly curved blades can be called sirohi. However, many other variations exist. Swords with straight blades and the disc-pommel hilt are usually referred to as 'straight-bladed talwars' (though the word dhup is also used), while those with the same hilt but yatagan-type forward-curved blades are termed 'sosun patta'. Swords with sabre-blades and all metal Indo-Muslim hilts, but having the pommel in the shape of the head of an animal or bird, instead of the disc, are termed talwar, without being differentiated by name. History: The talwar belongs to the same family of curved swords as the Persian shamshir, the Turkish kilij, Arabian saif and the Afghan pulwar, all such swords being originally derived from earlier curved swords developed in Turkic Central Asia.[6] The talwar typically does not have as radical a curve as the shamshir and only a very small minority have the expanded, stepped yelman (a sharp back edge on the distal third of the blade) typical of the kilij. The talwar has a distinctive, all-metal hilt, developed in Medieval India.[9] The increasing influence in India of Turco-Afghan, and later Turco-Mongol, dynasties (employing Persian and Central Asian arms) in the Late Medieval and subsequent eras led to ever greater use of sabre-like, curved swords. By Mughal times, the talwar had become the most popular form of sword in medieval India. The talwar was the product of the marriage of the curved blade derived from Turco-Mongol and Persian swords and the native all-metal Indo-Muslim hilt.

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Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $99 $10
$100 $999 $25
$1,000 $1,999 $50
$2,000 $4,999 $100
$5,000 $9,999 $250
$10,000 $24,999 $500
$25,000 $49,999 $1,000
$50,000 $99,999 $2,500
$100,000 + $5,000