Tipu Sultan and the Tiger Head Pommel

[Jim McDougall]

This hilt is fascinating as it clearly carries the tiger motif favored by Tipu as his personal totem, however the elements of the form such as the knucklebow, quillons and langet are distinctly of the British M1796 light cavalry sabre. While the British sabres of this pattern were considered one of the first 'regulation' pattern swords for Great Britain, officers were granted a great deal of license in customizing thier own hilts.

During the campaigns in Egypt at the beginning of the Napoleonic period, British officers were profoundly impressed by the warriors known as the Mamluks and thier flamboyant costume and especially the deadly Ottoman hilted sabres. Both they, and the French, adopted the design of these sabres into their own sabres, which eventually became the popular dress sword for officers termed the 'mameluke'. In addition to this, British officers sometimes added certain motif to existing sword hilt styles, creating a manner of hybrid and personalized form which pronounced that officers involvement in key military campaigns. I once owned a British M1803 infantry officers sabre which had the familiar lionhead pommel hilt, but instead of the flowing mane it had added a distinct sphinx headdress, clearly coming from the British campaigns in Egypt. While this practice was not prevalent, it was of course practiced in degree.

It is my opinion that this sabre hilt is one of those examples, probably commissioned by a British officer who saw service in the campaign at Seringpatam in 1799 with the defeat of Tipu Sultan. It seems quite plausible that this hilt was fashioned in the same manner as the M1803 I have described, using as the basis, the new pattern M1796 cavalry sabre.
What is unclear is whether the hilt was produced in India by local outfitters during occupation in years immediately after the famed battle or in England by one of the growing number of weapons contractors outfitting troops.

It is interesting that in India at that time, the British forces were those of the Crown in some degree, but primarily those of the British East India Co. It would seem that if done for an officer of the East India Co. thier device might be found somewhere in the design (while possibly only on the blade, now absent). It is interesting to note that soon after this period, the symbol of the EIC became the rampant lion replacing the quadranted heart with initials.The lionhead pommel did appear on some EIC sabres of this period.

It would be interesting to hear opinions or thoughts on this most interesting hilt. It has been my impression that Tipu would not have used a British hilt design for a sword made in his armouries (he and the British were of course not close, so probably was not of Tipu's reign. While the use of European blades and material was well established with Tipu's father Haider Ali who used German mercenaries, and swords are known carrying European design, this hilt in my opinion is of British form, so would not be from Tipu's armouries.

Thoughts, observations?

All best regards,
Jim

[olikara]

Forgive me for my ignorance.

But, what would have been the purpose of the feature(looks like 2 parallel lines/notches) on the knuckleguard-quillon that I have circled in the photograph attached below?

[kronckew]

i see this on a few similar sabre hilts, noteably the one on this illustration appears to have that feature.


and this one:




just a reasoned guess:

the 90 degree corner there is a weak point & in a casting especially would require a radiused section on the inside as re-enforcement. the decorative lines may be just that, or as this area is also used to attach the sword knots (used as a lanyard to keep you from accidentally dropping your sword while on horseback, which could prove embarrassing in a battle) it could serve as a restraining device to keep the knot in place. many hilts of course have a slot near the pommel for this (like the heavy cav. sabre in the photo).

[Jim McDougall]

Hi Olikara,
That is an excellent question!!! and in all honesty seems like the type of question that should be asked when studying the features in hilt forms, but in the years I have pursued this, nobody has ever noted it including me

On military swords, they typically follow a pattern which has a basic design and often with very subtle variations or features that seemed to have a degree of consistancy with individual makers who contracted to the govt.
The British M1796 light cavalry sabre for other ranks was one of the first truly 'regulation' patterns for them, and while these sabres were inclined to almost monotonous sameness, the officers had considerable latitude in ordering thier own custom swords.

The M1796 hilts were typically of forged iron, with other ranks being of course standard, and although officers sabres were as described, often custom made, they too were typically forged iron and followed the guidelines in so called 'stirrup hilt' with 'birds head' type pommel (meaning a smooth rounded pommel which smoothly carried down through the backstrap.
As Kronckew has noted, that 90 degree turn at the bottom of the knucklebow would most definitely be weakened, and though I am far from any expertise in metalwork or metallurgy, it seems a reinforcement would be the most likely explanation.

When casting brass hilts, I am not sure if there are similar dynamics as I believe the forged metal is worked, while the cast is not. In the case of the brass hilts, they were cast from a mold, which may have been from the original hilt form itself in this instance. The feature, though originally structural in the original, would carry through in the finished product .

I think Krockews very astute observation on these being positioning guides for a sword knot is also well placed, and again an idea I had not thought of. On the original M1796 sabres, there were usually slots on the knuckleguard for these knots, with the purpose he had described, however I have seen more decorative M1796 sabres with knots placed as he has noted.

All the best,
Jim

[Rick]

Here is that feature taken to the extreme as seen on a Parang Nabur .

[Jim McDougall]

Excellent example Rick!!!
This clearly illustrates the inflences of European edged weapons on the weapons of indiginous people, though I am unclear on exactly where the parang nabur is predominantly found. It seems most references assign these to Kalimantan (Borneo), but I presume other Malayan regions as well. One reference notes these originated probably from 'cutlasses' or sabres of Dutch naval forces. What period would likely be assigned to this example?

In any case, the exaggerated application of this feature decoratively seems most interesting as it is imitating what is believed a subtle structural feature in the original European sabres serving as examples.

This fascinating hybridization of weapons is one of the most intriguing areas in the study of ethnographic edged weapons, and often reflects the confluence of traditional native weapons with regulation military weapons. The hilt in discussion here appears as noted, a classic example!

All the best,
Jim

[Rick]

Hi Jim,
I can only guess that it may be late 19th - early 20th C.