Bharatpur. An officer’s dress belt complete with buckle and sword slings

Bharatpur. The belt of gold and silver lace with soft leather backing would almost certainly have been worn by a senior officer of the Jaswant Household Infantry, Churcharas who were the Maharaja’s bodyguard in this Jat state  Bharatpur in Rajputana. The silver plated buckle has the arms of the 17 gun salute state mounted in brass. It is in sleepy original condition and is a very rare survival from an Indian royal household, In our experience items from such sources very seldom reach the market. It retains the original sword slings. The overall length is 27 ins and the buckle measures 2½ x 2 ins. There are no visible maker’s marks. aug16/3

The illustration of the arms is from The Indian State Forces by H.H. The Maharaja of Jaipur [Leo Cooper, London 1967].