Collection Online as of March 29, 2023

Sword

1700s–1800s

Part of a set. See all set records

India, perhaps Deccan

Watered steel blade with iron hilt inlaid with gold

Overall: 99 cm (39 in.)

Gift of S. D. Wright 1930.706.a

Location

not on view

Description

Straight swords were typical of those used among military and aristocratic circles in the southern regions of the Deccan, in contrast to the curved swords favored by Central Asian equestrians. Increased contact between the Mughal north and the Deccan south during the 1600s led to the appearance of the Deccan-style sword in courtly portraits made during the time of Jahangir and Shah Jahan, and later.

Provenance

?–1930

Samson D. Wright [1866–1938], Cleveland Heights, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art

1930–

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Citations

“Part II. Fifteenth Annual Report of the Cleveland Museum of Art 1930.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, vol. 18, no. 2, 1931, pp. 1–128. Mentioned: p. 33 www.jstor.org

Exhibition history

Art and Stories from Mughal India. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (July 31-October 23, 2016).

Martial Art of India (Indian Painting rotation). The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (February 11-August 21, 2022).