Of Iron and Fire: Mister C.'s collection of Oriental arms. Photo Tessier-Sarrou

PARIS.- It has been a long time since such a collection of antique Oriental arms has appeared on the French art market.

This set of 120 pieces was collected by a scientist, a man of taste and a great aesthete, whose approach meets the standards of renowned Oriental arms collections such as Lord Egerton’s or those found in the Musée de l’Armée and in Indian palaces.

The West has always been fascinated by Oriental arms

“The West has always been fascinated by Oriental arms, as the blades are of very high quality and they are magnificent decorative art objects”, the Islamic and Indian art expert Alexis Renard explains. “Throughout history, they have been traded or been spoils of war. As from the 19th century, many dedicated collectors sought them out for their beauty and their precious materials.”

A comprehensive overview of different types of Oriental arms

Beautiful gold-damascened Katar (daggers used to pierce chainmail), armors, sabers, shields, khanjars (17th and 18th-century India), ceremonial maces in gold-damascened iron with typical Hindu motifs (18th-century India), pesh-kabz (18th-century Iran), 18th-century Turkish jambiya with jade and gems, Kashmiri blunderbusses (late 18th century)… These highly aesthetic objects offer a fairly comprehensive overview of different types of Oriental arts. Mister C.’s collection comprises: - Various periods between the 17th and 19th centuries - A great variety of shapes, techniques and materials: jade, gold, ivory, marine ivory, rock crystal, silver, silver gilt - Numerous regions: the Indo-Persian world, North Africa, Arabia, as well as beautiful Indian arms.