Sinhalese Kirichchiya (Mahout Knife)
Rare Sinhalese Kirichchiya (Mahout Knife)
Kingdom of Kandy - British Ceylon (Sri Lanka)
Late 18th - Early 19th century
Steel, horn, copper-nickel alloy
Blade: 22,2cm
Hilt & Blade: 31,1cm
Hilt, Blade, Sheath: -cm
Collection Date: 2023
Collection Number: 327
Ex. Mandarin Mansion (2023) (https://www.mandarinmansion.com/item/sinhalese-kirichchiya-0)
Ex. UK Private Collection
A rare knife from the Island of Sri Lanka known as a kirichchiya, used by mahouts for the tending and training of their elephants. Early examples, as this one, were more fanciful with elaborate carvings, influenced by early Indoesian knives such as the sewar.
This example features a single- edged steel blade slightly upcurving with a profiled concave and beveled tip clip-point. Thick ricasso with file work at the base of the blade. Small "X" engravings along the lower half of the blade length.
The hilt is composed of carved horn. Pommel in the shape of a stylized bird's head, sérapéṅdiya, a Sinhalese mythical bird. The surface has a fine checkered pattern, accomplished by unknown means. Under a microscope, it appears as if a fine metallic mesh was applied into the horn. The pommel is chipped at the top of the head and beak.
The ferrule appears to be made of a copper-nickel alloy known as báitong in Chinese. It was a prized and widely traded material in Asia that was chiefly mined in Yunnan before Europeans managed to produce the alloy in the 18th century. A rare knife, with only a handful that can be found in museums and collections. The last photo shows close-up detail of the mesh pattern applied into the horn under bright lighting.