id:			112280
accession number:	1930.704
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/1930.704
updated:		2023-08-23 19:32:16.249000

Tulwar sword, 1700s. India, probably Deccan. Iron hilt with gold; steel blade with gold; wood scabbard with velvet and metallic thread; overall: 96.6 cm (38 1/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of S. D. Wright 1930.704

title:				Tulwar sword
title in original language:	
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			1700s
creation date earliest:		1700
creation date latest:		1799
current location:		
creditline:			Gift of S. D. Wright
copyright:			

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culture:	India, probably Deccan
technique:	Iron hilt with gold; steel blade with gold; wood scabbard with velvet and metallic thread
department:	Indian and Southeast Asian Art
collection:	Indian Art
type:		Arms and Armor
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

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measurements: Overall: 96.6 cm (38 1/16 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

	inscription:	Help [comes] from God, and Victory is imminent.
	translation:	
	remark:		

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

	title:		Art and Stories from Mughal India
	opening date:   2016-07-31T04:00:00
	<i>Art and Stories from Mughal India</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 31-October 23, 2016).

	title:		Martial Art of India (Indian Painting rotation)
	opening date:   2022-02-11T05:00:00
	<i>Martial Art of India (Indian Painting rotation)</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (February 11-August 21, 2022).

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

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PROVENANCE

	Samson D. Wright [1866-1938], Cleveland Heights, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
	date: ?-1930
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
	date: 1930-
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


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fun fact:


digital description:


wall description:
This long curved sword and scabbard are of the kind used and worn by Mughal nobility, as seen often in paintings. The openwork hilt is a characteristic of swords from the southern Indian region known as the Deccan. By the end of the 1500s, the Mughals began making regular incursions into the Deccan as they attempted to expand their empire, increasing the exchange of art forms. <br><br>Repeated four times, twice on one side of the blade and twice on the other in gold inlay, is the same line from the Qur'an 61:13: “Help [comes] from God, and Victory is imminent.” This is a popular inscription on daggers, banners, and other instruments of war, as it reassures the combatants that God is on their side, and therefore they can in good faith expect a speedy victory if they fight valiantly.
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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

	“Part II. Fifteenth Annual Report of the Cleveland Museum of Art 1930.” <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em>, vol. 18, no. 2, 1931, pp. 1–128.
	page number: 	Mentioned: p. 33
	url:		www.jstor.org/stable/25137366

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IMAGES

web:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1930.704/1930.704_web.jpg
print:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1930.704/1930.704_print.jpg
full:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1930.704/1930.704_full.tif