FOLLOWING 5 PHOTOS BELOW SHOW THE BACK OF THE BOW AND THE AMAZING DAMASCUS PATTERNING IN THE LAYERED STEEL
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MAGNIFICENT GOLD AND DAMASCUS STEEL INDO-PERSIAN ANTIQUE ARCHERY BOW WITH EXTENSIVE GOLD KOFTGARI WORK Central Asia Late 19th to Early 20th Century A.D. With a front that is completely embellished with pure 24K gold koftgari decoration, this magnificent antique Damascus steel Indo-Persian archery bow is truly an impressive display piece. The steel it is made from is the finest pattern-wielded layered sword steel with above images displaying the beautiful detail on the entire back side of the bow. Steel surfaces are without any unsightly corrosion and ALL gold koftgari work is INTACT and undamaged. While moderately decorated steel bows can be found featuring some silver and on occasion, small amounts of gold decoration, antique steel Indo-Persian examples featuring damascus steel and a completely covered front in ONLY gold are rare. Take down threaded components are intact and undamaged. A bow similar to this but with substantially less decoration and preservation, sold this year for nearly $50,000 in auction. http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/lot_details.aspx?intObjectID=5422008. Bow is ORIGINAL and unrestored. The koftgari metal inlay technique is highly time-consuming and requires the metal surface to be engraved first, then the precious metal is worked and burnished into the engraved design after which, it is polished flush to the metal it is inlaid into. Workmanship and detail that this bow shows is one of the most intricate we have seen and surely would have represented a prize weapon to its owner. Steel bows were first employed in Central Asia during the 16th Century, A.D. about the same time composite bows were being phased out. They were initially thought to be a superior replacement for the composite bow since the bowstrings could be left on the steel bows which would not weaken over time like composite bows made from organic materials. They were not used for long and eventually gave way to the greater prevalence of firearms into the 17th and 18th centuries. EXCEPTIONAL MUSEUM GRADE BOW WITH COMPLETE PURE GOLD KOFTGARI EMBELLISHMENT ON PATTERN WIELDED DAMASCUS STEEL 38.5" in length SOLD BW001 Actual Item - One Only |
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