Tibetan Kora, very rare sword.
Whilst the Indian and Nepalese Kora are well known and documented, of the Tibetan Kora, little is known or recorded other than what can be seen 'Stone's Glossary', page 373, figure 469 and various photos of temples/Chapels within Nepal and Tibet.
The examples presented in figure 469, item 3 show a similar blade but it carries the disc hilts which are more commonly found on later Nepalese Kora. This Kora with the voluted guard is more reminiscent of Indian tulwar and other swords from the region and are very seldomly encountered.
Dating such a piece can also be quite hard. Based on the photos available of said chapels and temples, various swords displayed have, with the history attached to such places been dated to the late 18th century. By desgin and construction it seems plausible that the few examples known such as this piece could date to late 17th, early 18th century.
The overall length of this Kora is 74cms with a thick, heavy downward curving blade of 59cms. The blade is decorated with geometric designs to the Forte, tip and along the sides nearer to the spine. Like the Patissa, gallery item s211, this piece show stunning differential fullering and stepping arrangements throughout the entire blade. The tip shows show strong protrusions much like horns and there is a cutting edge between these protrusions.
The pommel is that of a faceted Tibetan Stupa. The hilt would have once had horn or antler in place over the central iron grip. A lot of the blade still retains the original red resin, most likely for votive reasons.
The last example known to me to have the voluted guard appeared in the market was in 2002 with a blade similar to that of #2 in Stones figure 469.
A very rare Tibetan sword.
