Hi Charles,
A quick answer, before I shoot out for the evening.....
Nice piece - my gut tells me 18thC. The quality and amount of silver work applied to the hilt, is what I'm going by.
The size and proportions seem to reflect early katars found in the South of India - in fact there is where I would place it - possibly the Deccan plateau.
If I have time later I will have a look through some books and try give you info on the floral patters. But they look distinctly Moghul, and the silver peacocks look Southern/Deccani.
So I suppose that's my synopsis - 18th (late 17th?) from the Deccan Plateau.
Regards,
Runjeet
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