Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

CharlesS · 18th December 2014, 05:19 PM

I acquired these two very unique Qajar era all steel axes/choppers recently. I have never seen anything quite like them. At first glance I thought they were Indian bhujs.

Apparently these are ceremonial things and are another in a long line of fakir(holy man) weapons that are mostly for looks. Please see the pic below.

While they are almost certainly ceremonial, they are also fit weapons, most especially the shorter one, which is quite heavy and features a thick blade. Neither piece is particularly well balanced.

Note the decent quality of the typically Qajar era chiseling on the longer one, which is also decorated in gold koftgari. The silver koftgari on the all steel haft is rather crudely applied.

The shorter one also had some gold koftgari to the top of the blade's sides, but most of it has been lost. The chiseling here is superior, at least to my eye.

Dimensions:

Top example: 32in. overall, with a 18.5in. blade that is 2in. wide at its widest point.

Bottom example: 24.5in. overall, with a 12in. blade that is 2.5in. wide at its widest point.

The photo of a man standing with a similar piece was provided by Runjeet Singh via Eric Tulin. Thanks to both!

18th December 2014, 05:19 PM	#1
CharlesS Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Greenville, NC Posts: 1,855	Qajar Era Ceremonial Choppers/Axes I acquired these two very unique Qajar era all steel axes/choppers recently. I have never seen anything quite like them. At first glance I thought they were Indian bhujs. Apparently these are ceremonial things and are another in a long line of fakir(holy man) weapons that are mostly for looks. Please see the pic below. While they are almost certainly ceremonial, they are also fit weapons, most especially the shorter one, which is quite heavy and features a thick blade. Neither piece is particularly well balanced. Note the decent quality of the typically Qajar era chiseling on the longer one, which is also decorated in gold koftgari. The silver koftgari on the all steel haft is rather crudely applied. The shorter one also had some gold koftgari to the top of the blade's sides, but most of it has been lost. The chiseling here is superior, at least to my eye. Dimensions: Top example: 32in. overall, with a 18.5in. blade that is 2in. wide at its widest point. Bottom example: 24.5in. overall, with a 12in. blade that is 2.5in. wide at its widest point. The photo of a man standing with a similar piece was provided by Runjeet Singh via Eric Tulin. Thanks to both! Attached Images Last edited by CharlesS; 19th December 2014 at 12:21 PM.