Regal 18th century Kasthane takes its stand at the museum
The 18th century Kasthane sword, believed to have belonged to a Kandyan aristocrat was taken to the UK in 1906. How and who engineered its journey still remains a mystery. The 480.5 mm long kasthane sword with the mythical serapendiya head-adorned pommel, embellished with hammer work, moulding, bench-work, gold plating and engraving was auctioned at Sotheby’s London a century later on December 19, 2006 in the elite section of ‘Property of a Princely Family and Other Aristocratic Estates’. The proud claimant was an antique dealer in Russia.
Gifted to President Maithripala Sirisena by the Russian President Vladimir Putin during his recent visit to Russia, this sword was ceremonially handed over to the National Museum, Colombo last Wednesday under the auspices of President Sirisena and is now displayed in the Arms and Weapon Gallery.
The return of the sword to the Colombo National Museum which has a collection of around 75 kasthane swords is a significant moment, says the Deputy Director, (Ethnology), Department of National Museums Senarath Wickramasinghe. Comparative studies, features of a particular sword and the type of decorative art used help determine its period. He also distinguishes the swords as ‘fighting swords’ and ‘decorative swords’. Kasthane falls into the latter category and is further categorized into Kandyan (Up Country) and Low Country kasthanes.
The majority of the swords belonging to the Kandyan Period as the publication ‘Ancient Swords, Daggers and Knives in Sri Lankan Museums’ by Prof. P.H.D.H De Silva and Senarath Wickramsinghe documents are the lions’ head hilted swords with shallow curved blades resembling the scimitar or sabre form. Occasionally the pommel is with the serapendiya head as found in the recently returned sword. The serapendiya is also called ‘gurulu pakshiya’ a mythical bird said to have a head like a lion joined to the body of a bird like the hamsa. “Although our national museum network has fighting swords from pre-Kandyan era, the Kasthane sword collection is confined only to the Kandyan period,” points out the scholar. Among it, kasthanes of the royalty is very rare, the only one, belonging to King Buwanekabahu 1, deposited at the Colombo National Museum. Those belonging to King Rajasinghe 11 and Kirthi Sri Rajasinghe are in the custody of the Rijksmuseum in Netherlands.
The Sinhala term Kasthane is said to be derived from the Portuguese word ‘castao’, meaning the hilt (of a walking stick). As Mr. Wickramasinghe explains, ‘kasthane’ and kadukasthana refer to the sword which was part of the official dress of government officials such as Arachchi, Muhandiram and Mudliyars. The kasthanes are also believed to have been given by the Dutch Government to persons who are to be invested with a rank. The British too had followed suit.
Speaking at the ceremony ‘Return of the Inheritance’ on Wednesday, Director Department of National Museums, Sanuja Kasthuriarachchi reflected that the kasthane’s return is also a gesture of diplomatic goodwill.