A important and rare north Indian pesh kabz of late 18th…
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A important and rare north Indian pesh kabz of late 18th century date and of Museum quality, approx 44 cm overall with 31 cm blade. The blade of finest watered steel is of very pronounced T section with the back being 13 mm in width at the base, the whole of the back being finely chiselled with interlaced foliage and arabesques to highest standard, as is the forte on both faces. The upper face of the exposed tang is also 13 mm in width and has chiselling en suite. The grip scales are of walrus ivory (morse) with excellent colour and patination. The velvet covered scabbard has silver mounts in green and blue enamel of the highest quality, these colours being traditionally worked at Lucknow. There are pierced silver lockets at the pommel and on the upper scabbard mount. This pesh kabz is illustrated in the major reference 'Islamic and Oriental arms and armour' by Robert Hales (plate 925). The most remarkable feature of this pesh kabz is the chiselling on the back of the blade, this being of the finest quality ever produced.(Please note Relisted due to a non paying Bidder)

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  • Ivory - Ivory is a hard white material that comes from the tusks of elephants, mammoth, walrus and boar, or from the teeth of hippopotamus and whales. The ivory from the African elephant is the most prized source of ivory. Although the mammoth is extinct, tusks are still being unearthed in Russia and offered for sale.

    Ivory has been used since the earliest times as a material for sculpture of small items, both in Europe and the east, principally China and Japan.

    In Asia ivory has been carved for netsuke, seals, okimono, card cases, fan supports, animals and other figures and even as carved tusks.

    In the last 200 years in Europe ivory has been used to carve figures, for elaborate tankards, snuff boxes, cane handles, embroidery and sewing accessories, in jewellery and as inlay on furniture. Its more practical uses include being used for billiard balls, buttons, and a veneers on the top of piano keys.

    The use and trade of elephant ivory have become controversial because they have contributed to Due to the decline in elephant populations because of the trade in ivory, the Asian elephant was placed on Appendix One of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), in 1975, and in January 1990, the African elephant was similarly listed. Under Appendix One, international trade in Asian or African elephant ivory between member countries is forbidden. Unlike trade in elephant tusks, trade in mammoth tusks is legal.

    Since the invention of plastics, there have been many attempts to create an artificial ivory
  • Patination / Patina - In broad terms, patination refers to the exterior surface appearance of the timber, the effect of fading caused by exposure to sunlight and air over the course of a century or more, changing the piece to a soft, mellow colour.

    As patina is very difficult to replicate, it is one of the most important guides to determining the age of furniture.

    Patina is also the term applied to the bloom or film found on old bronzes due to oxidisation.

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