Mahrattan Indian Fakir's Crutch Mace

Status: Sold · Region: India · Type: Armor

An uncommon form of crow's bill axe, consisting of a brass hand holding a solid iron spike, shaped to look like a horn curving back on itself and terminating in a brass tiger's head. The hand is fastened to an iron shaft that terminates in a finial in the form of a flattened out pommel. The brass hand unscrews with a left-hand thread to reveal a long quadrangular spike. The spike on this example fastened with a square stud into the brass handle and now slightly loose.

Other examples of this form can be found in the Royal Armories Collection, Leeds, U.K. (Obj. Nr. XXVIM.5) where it is dated to the 18th century and attributed to Kolapore, India, where it was taken, having formerly been in the Old Town of London collection. Kolapore is a former princely city in Maharastra and during the Maratha Empire was ruled by the Bhosle family.