Mandarin Mansion

18/08/2026

I love pieces with context. Here is a Bundi katar that bears a signature with a date of 1873-1874 C.E. as well as a separate signature of the goldsmith who was probably someone of note. The gold is indeed very well applied, and much thicker than normally seen on these as well.

18/08/2026

New listing, a shikārgar talwar. Shikārgar is a name given to a style of sword with chiseled hunting scenes on its blade. It is derived off the word shikār (شکار) which specifically means hunting by means of the chase, and gār (گار); Doer, agent. The term appears among others in Hendley's Memorials of the Jeypore Exhibition of 1883.

Here a nice example with a Marwari-style hilt and retaining its old scabbard.

The blade is chiseled with hunting scenes and complete with an old scabbard.

18/08/2026

This striking shield from Sialkot, the Punjab is richly overlaid in gold wire. It was produced in Sialkot, known for such shields.

The Persian inscription reads:

"Do not sit with the wicked, for bad company / even if you are pure, will make you impure"

This is a well-known moralistic couplet about the corrupting influence of bad companions by 12th-century Sufi poet Hakim Sanai. It was published in the Hadiqat al-Haqiqa (Enclosed Garden of the Truth) around 1130–1131 AD. It is a poetic masterwork that inspired famous later Sufis like Attar of Nishapur and Rūmī and his companions.

The inclusion of a Sufi text on a Punjabi shield is no coincidence; the Sikhs of the Punjab had a strong connection to Sufism. The primary Sikh scripture the Guru Granth Sahib of 1604 included the poetry of the Punjabi Sufi saint Baba Farid (Sheikh Farid) alongside the words of the Sikh Gurus.

The shield came from the Richard R. Wagner Jr. Collection. It was published in Oliver S. Pinchot; Arms of the Paladins, the Richard R. Wagner Jr. Collection of Fine Eastern Weapons. Woonsocket, USA. Andrew Mowbray Incorporated. 2014. Page 161.

The shield is in near-mint condition, by far the best I have seen on the market so far.

For the entire listing, see my website link in the comments.

17/08/2026

This sold years ago, but I never got to listing it until now. Here it is! I still miss this wonderful thing. It's in my top three of favorite Chinese items I've ever sold. It is understated but clearly of very high quality, made for someone who was obviously wealthy and discerning but didn't care about superficial decoration. The excellence is all in the geometry.

Of excellent workmanship throughout, this piece has no decoration but solely relies on its geometry for aesthetic appeal.

14/08/2026

Just listed, a very unusual makara-hilted sword. The hilt is most likely one of the sacred Indian alloys.

The hilt of a whitish alloy similar to baitong. Blade of wootz.

14/08/2026

People get distracted by swords in my gallery, but the floor is worth noticing as well!

12/08/2026

Katar with matching scabbard chapes.

10/08/2026

A tegha with a nice Deccan pierced hilt, anyone? Here it is:

Descri

10/08/2026

More katar! At first glance it looks like a Bundi type, but I suspect rather Sirohi in this case, which was also ruled by a branch of the Chauhan Rajputs.

With Rajput sun faces on the handlebars and sunken panels in the sidebars.

10/08/2026

Latest listing. Rare!

Its blade is flanked by hollow strips that hold natural pearls, symbolic of the tears of the afflicted.