No takers I guess, so what I can say is,
The 'ayudha kathi' (Sk=weapon; Drav. =knife/sword) is a chopper knife used by the Kodava people (Coorgs) of SW India near Malabar coast. These people have long tradition as warriors who are agricultural in everyday life. They have a turbulent history with neighboring groups and the British in early 19th c. which finally resulted in violent uprisings in 1884. Apparently huge volumes of these traditional and distinctive knives were confiscated by the British and dumped at sea....according to record, 17,295 of them...give or take a few.
With this fact, it seems dealers have typically heralded these as extremely rare, however I doubt that the population of these knives simply ended there.
This form is with the leaf type pommel, and these were often worn in the small of the back in an apparatus called a todunga. In this form they are regarded as a prestigious weapon and worn in a status or ceremonial dress manner.
The type of these with simple handle without the leaf pommel is regarded as a 'war knife', and is simply carried not worn in the apparatus.
As these were also used agriculturally, it seems likely this example is more of that demeanor, but still with the distinctive (and deadly) character of the ayda katti.
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