A Steel Mace (Shashpar or Gurz) from the Talpur Armoury, Sindh, 18th or Early 19th Century

Philippe Missillier Collection no.28C

inscriptions

At the top: ‘commander of the governor Mir Karam ‘Ali Khan Talpur’ (farmanfarma-yi sarkar-i mir karam ‘ali khan talpur)

At the bottom: ‘work of Muhammad Baqir Isfahani’ (‘amal muhammad baqir isfahani)

The Talpur dynasty ruled the Sindh region from the late eighteenth century until its gradual incorporation into the British Empire over the course of the nineteenth century. A number of sword blades exist with ‘work of…’ inscriptions from various swordsmiths alongside the names of members of the Talpur family, which suggests a practice of importing blades attributed to celebrated swordsmiths and inscribing them locally. The present piece is a rare example of the same practice applied to a mace. Indeed, James Burnes, who was present in Hyderabad from 1827-28, wrote that the Talpur rulers at the time maintained a network of agents across Iran and the Ottoman Empire that supplied them with valuable swords and gun barrels, and that members of the court placed great value on high-quality swords with illustrious provenance (James Burnes, A Narrative of a Visit to the Court of Sinde, Edinburgh: Robert Cadell, 1831, pp.93-96). 

Mir Karam ‘Ali Khan (d.1828) was from the Hyderabad branch of the Talpurs, ruling in central Sindh. The group of brothers who ruled together, including Mir Karam ‘Ali Khan, were known as the Char Sar ‘Four Friends’ (Postans 1843, p.188).

A related mace, in the British Royal Collection (inv. no.RCIN 37528), was presented to Prince Albert Edward (1841-1910, later King Edward VII) during his tour of India in 1874-75. The mace was presented by Mahbub Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VI Nizam of Hyderabad, and was recorded in the catalogue of the Sandringham collection as seventeenth-century Mughal (C. Purdon Clarke, Arms and Armour at Sandringham, London: Griggs and Sons, 1910, re-printed Ken Trotman 2018, p.2, no.12).

Thomas Postans, Personal Observations on Sindh: The Manners and Customs of Its Inhabitants, and Its Productive Capabilities with a Sketch of Its History, a Narrative of Recent Events, and an Account of the Connection of the British Government with That Country to the Present Period, London: Longman, Brown, Green and Longmans, 1843.

See also lot 79 in this sale for a sword inscribed to Mir Murad ‘Ali Khan (d.1834) and his son Mir Muhammad Nasir Khan (d.1845).