The book has a selection
of 186 of the most interesting arms in the Jaipur royal palace and discusses them as weapons in their
social and historical context. The book breaks new ground in Indian arms
scholarship and is also a very readable account that takes in Rajput, Mughal
and British Indian history, anthropology and art history. The objects are
stunning: swords belonging to the Mughal Emperors Jahangir, Shah Jahan and
Aurangzeb, wonderful court daggers with hilts of carved rock crystal, jade, ivory
and gilt steel, ferocious tribal arms, some remarkable historic firearms and
beautiful painted shields, some of which were decorated in Japan for the Mughal
court. There is even a device for extracting arrows from wounds with
toe-curling ancient medical remedies. Most of these arms are from the reserve
collections and published for the first time.
One in a
series illustrating the collections of the Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Museum,
City Palace, Jaipur, Arms & Armour at the Jaipur Court: The
Royal Collection will be essential for all museum curators, dealers and
collectors working in this field. Others in the series are Festivals at the Jaipur Court by Vibhuti Sachdev, Costumes and Textiles at the Jaipur Court by
Rahul Jain and Painting & Photography
at the Jaipur Court by Giles Tillotson and Mrinalini Venkateswaran.