| Author |
Message |
Eric S
|
 Posted: Tue 26 Aug, 2014 3:59 am Post subject: Indian katars from the collection of the Met Museum |
 |
|
The Indian katar (jamdhar/jamadher) has undergone very little change in form during many centuries. This can be seen by studying old paintings, miniatures and other ancient art. It is known that Ibn Battuta, an Algerian travelling in India in the 14th century, described an attack with a katar, but so far the roots and the age of the katar have not been researched further back. Jens Nordlunde has traced it back to Orissa in the 10th century, showing a form very similar to how it looks today.
The Metropolitan Museum has 82 katars in their collection, of these only 2 are on display and 63 are available for viewing online. The majority of the museums katar were willed to the museum by George C. Stone, it is a superb and varied collection and yet it is practically unknown and unseen. Many of the images are high resolution which allows the fine details to be brought out with editing.
I have gone through and edited all of the images and created many new ones including some with incredible detail. I have also created a pinterest site and added the images of each katar there so that anyone can view them. Unfortunately there is not a lot of info attached to the museums katars as far as region of manufacture etc.
http://www.pinterest.com/worldantiques/katars...t-collect/
|
|
   |
 |
Shahril Dzulkifli
|
| Posted: Tue 02 Sep, 2014 1:09 am Post subject: Indian katars from the collection of the Met Museum |
|
|
Those katars look wicked, especially the engravings. 
This one has a cobra's head acting as its handguard.
“You have power over your mind - not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength”
- Marcus Aurelius
|
|
|
|
|
Eric S
|
| Posted: Fri 05 Sep, 2014 8:49 am Post subject: Re: Indian katars from the collection of the Met Museum |
|
|
| Shahril Dzulkifli wrote: |
Those katars look wicked, especially the engravings. |
Here are some katar from the Met's collection that just look wicked, with or without engravings, at the bottom is what an a Indian warrior wielding a katar and wearing a "coat of a thousand nails" (chilta hazar masha) would have looked like.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Niels Just Rasmussen
|
| Posted: Fri 05 Sep, 2014 9:03 am Post subject: |
|
|
Great pictures. Thanks for making us see on otherwise obscure collection!
What a fantastic elaboration of the weapons.
Were they actually intended for real combat or are they prestige items for showing off your wealth and taste?
|
|
|
|
|
Eric S
|
| Posted: Sat 06 Sep, 2014 12:26 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Niels Just Rasmussen wrote: | Great pictures. Thanks for making us see on otherwise obscure collection!
What a fantastic elaboration of the weapons.
Were they actually intended for real combat or are they prestige items for showing off your wealth and taste? |
Niels, katars were both status symbols and deadly weapons, I am posting a few period ilustrations showing katar in use.
The Met has a fantastic collection of Indo-Persian of knifes, daggers as well as some swords, and other weapons, most of these are not available to be seen although some have been photographed, I am in the process of editing all of the existing Indo-Persian weapons images that the Met has made public and will post a link when I am done, in the mean time here are a few of the images.
You can see one warrior in the act of stabbing another with his katar.
You can see katars in the belts of these warriors who are in the middle of a battle.
Some other weapons from the Mets Indo-Persian collection.
|
|
|
|
|
Jussi Ekholm
|
| Posted: Sun 07 Sep, 2014 5:50 am Post subject: |
|
|
Thanks for posting this Eric, some of them are really stunning even though I personally prefer more plain looking ones.
Jussi Ekholm
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
This is a standard topic