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AUCTION 45: ANTIQUE ARMS AND ARMOR
Lot 220:
This is a steel Indo-Persian Tabar battleaxe of the Qajar period in Iran. The head of the axe is beautifully engraved with large Farsi inscriptions. The blade bears the two largest and most intricate inscriptions, though they are yet to be translated because of said intricacy. The eye of the axe bears two smaller inscriptions, one of which reads "Sultan" and the other "Shah Suleyman". The butt of the axe-head is engraved with a depiction of a seated Persian man smoking a hookah. Both the butt of the axe-head and the bit are decorated with gold damascene near their edges.
The handle of the axe is of steel that has been interestingly shaped, with three sections of twisted steel with spiraling grooves, and two nine-sided sections which are split in two halves horizontally, with each half bearing nine sides that interlock with the nine sides of the other. These nine-sided sections are all damascened intricately with gold.
L: 32 in., (81.3 cm.)
Condition: Very good overall, with some denting and a small chip at the bit. The inscription is in near-perfect condition. The gold and silver damascene is faded in places but still present across most of the piece.
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