Description

A nice example of a north Indian katar. It has a strong and thick wootz blade with pronounced ridgeline between two hollow sections. The center is etched to reveal the wootz pattern, while the edged are burnished bright following the typical northern aesthetic.

Hilt

The hilt is decorated with floral scrollwork in thick gold, most of it still intact. Where the hilt meets the blade there is unusual loss of gold. Runjeet Singh, who owned this katar several years ago, believed this is where probably an inscription was removed, possibly referring to a previous owner.

Scabbard & tools

It comes in its original wooden scabbard, covered with olive green fabric. It has a silver endpiece and a leather belt wrapped around it with a golden damascened buckle. It has a separate compartment in the front that holds four tools, each damascened in gold just like the katar.

The tools consist of two pairs of tweezers, a pin of square cross-section, and a chisel-like implement with oblique head and a dagger-like hilt.

Condition

Katar and tools in very good condition, with only some minor losses to the gold. Blade in very good condition, no edge damage, etc. The scabbard has some losses to the textile covering.

Conclusion

Katar complete with tools are very rare. This is a good quality example in a rather good state of preservation, retaining all its original parts. The katar itself has a substantial wootz blade and lavish gold decoration.