Khanda Sword With Its Scabbard

India, Punjab or Rajasthan, 19th century

Steel, gold damascening, wood, and velvet

Total length: 91 cm; blade length: 71.5 cm

Straight-bladed sword made of damascened steel, with a single cutting edge and a counter-edge toward the tip. The heel is reinforced by two openwork pieces, decorated with gold damascene motifs.

The steel hilt features a tang covered with gold-colored velvet beneath its textile wrapping. The shell-shaped guard, adorned with floral and geometric motifs in gold damascening, retains its velvet lining and on the inner quillons. The bowl-shaped pommel is topped by a long, curved spike, entirely damascened in gold and ending in a rounded knob with vertical fluting.

The wooden scabbard is lined with red velvet and stitched with gold metallic thread. Both the sword and its scabbard are entirely original.

This exceptional piece is comparable to certain khandas on display at the Topkapı Palace in Istanbul.

See the museum examples below

The Detroit Institute of Arts displays its 18th-century khanda under accession number F75.33.A

• Detroit Institute of Arts — Khanda, 18th century, F75.33.A⁠
• Royal Armouries — Khanda and scabbard, early 19th century, XXVIS.81⁠
• Victoria and Albert Museum — search for reference IS.212toB-1964⁠ (17th-century piece touted by Artcurial).