DECCAN, OR PERHAPS ORISSA, 17TH CENTURY

This remarkable basket hilt, often referred to in secondary literature as a ‘khanda’ hilt, is a rare survival of 17th century South Indian ivory carving deployed in arms and armour. A contemporary powder flask attributed to Sri Lanka was sold at Sotheby’s London, 29 October 2025, lot 154, and shares with the present hilt a taste for dense patterns that bring out the texture of the ivory, in contrast to more open ivory-carving seen in North India. On the hilt, the dense floral patterns evoke the prevailing aesthetics of the Deccan more than the more abstract vegetal patterns of Sri Lanka seen on the powder flask. An ivory book stand in the David Collection has very similar elegant carving to that seen here. Not only does it have similar floral decoration but - in a manner typical of the Deccan - the artist has mixed the vegetal ornamentation with figural motifs borrowed from Hinduism, including depictions of yalis, parrots and peacocks, similar to that on the terminal of the hand guard on our hilt. That book stand is attributed to the Deccan, 2nd half of the 16th century (7 / 2022). It is therefore likely that this hilt was produced in the Deccan, where the ‘khanda’-style basket hilt was also particularly popular.

A dagger hilt with comparable dense floral carving and pommel in the form of a lion’s head was sold at Sotheby’s London, 5 October 2011, lot 316, while a sword with an ivory basket hilt was sold at Sotheby’s London, 25 May 2005, lot 84.

This lot has an Ivory Exemption Certificate (cert. no. BTZLMM39).