Hello,
Jim, I believe bidriware originated in Bidar, on the border of modern day Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. It would have been part of the Nizam's Hyderabad State.
Runjeet, when I was in Hyderabad I heard that the Ottoman Sultan had high hopes at the turn of the 20th century for the marriages with the Nizam's family as it would provide access to enormous wealth to fund the Empire's modernization and renewal. For context, the 8th Nizam's fortune was estimated at ~$200 billion in the 1960s, making him something like the 6th richest man in history.
Similarly, the Nizams wanted the link to the Empire and the Sultanate, before its abolishment.
I do recall seeing Ottoman kilij in the
Nizam's arms collection
.
Charles, I don't know how this ties into Baroda State and I don't want to push the Hyderabad angle too much if it's a dead end, but it illustrates India's ready access to Ottoman blades.
Emanuel