Item AC0
This Item was Sold on 21 June 2021
for $600
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This old Chakram is a beautiful throwing ring made out of steel. It is decorated with chisled art depicting plants and animals native to the Indian sub-continent. The maximum thickness is located at the inner edge. The outer edge is a sharp cutting blade. This chackram is decorated on both sides and the art is different on the two sides. I acquired this chackram from the Barclay Gallery in Michigan in the 1980s. At one time, it was a deacquisition from a museum. It is in marvelous condition. Please view the photos below.
The Indian throwing ring knife is variously known as the Chakram, Chakra, Chackram, Chackrum, Chakar, Chakram Quoit. Generally thought to be the exclusive provenance of the Sikhs, Egerton shows a broad bladed example of 6" diameter in his landmark 1880 study identified as Aboriginal and non-Aryan Tribes of Central Indian and the Andaman Islands. These generally are called the "Wild Tribes" and are known to have produced fine metal work in their weapons, particularly battle axes. Allowing for a broader use of the chakram, he describes the vast variation in construction and quality encountered. Furthermore, it seems quite likely that the Sikhs (founded in 1469) may have adapted the weapon from the refugees of the earlier Aryan invasion. Egerton also states that the arm that is exclusively peculiar to this sect (Sikhs) is the quoit, but he goes on to remove any doubt that it is a true weapon and used in battle. The Sikhs became martial under Guru Govind Singh and they used the Chackram effectively against the Moghul dynasty. The Chackram has a history that is as old as Indian civilization itself. It's useage is embedded in Indian myth and legend. In the epics . . . the Mahabharata for instance . . . an asura trying to get heavenly nectar from the moon had his head chakra-ed off. Still he tries to swallow the moon and succeeds ever so often before the moon escapes through the cut neck . . . an eclipse myth. Sculptures and paintings of many gods and godesses show the chakra being twirled. |
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