A FINE SOUTH INDIAN DAGGER (BICHWA)

A FINE SOUTH INDIAN DAGGER (BICHWA), 17TH/18TH CENTURY, POSSIBLY BANGALORE, with recurved double-edged blade formed with a pair of short slender fullers on each face and reinforced at the tip, brass hilt cast and chased in high relief, comprising outer guard decorated with a deity, probably Vishnu, crowned by a cobra, surrounded by Yali, lions and birds, inner-guard decorated with a central knot design and writhen bud-shaped pommel, 29.0 cm overall¦¦Roy Elvis catalogue number D24.¦¦Highlight from the Roy Elvis Collection (1944-2022)¦