Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

CourseEight · 19th July 2009, 05:06 AM

Thank you for your observations Gene, and for the picture of the mace. A couple of points:

(1) Since the pommel is rounded, as is the bolster, this wouldeem to imply that you think the shaft of the mace passed through the guard and attached to the pommel. Therefore the handle (gripped part) was in a single piece with the shaft of the mace. In my experience, however, the khanda handles on Indian pieces are generally a seperate piece rivetted onto the shaft/blade. The mace in the picture seems of this type also. Does anyone have any examples of a seperate guard piece, but a single piece shaft/handle?

(2) The paint on the handle looks to me to be accenting the faces and in chevron patterns, so I'm not sure it was ever supposed to cover the whole handle. Also, there are plenty of non-steel (copper, brass, bronze) Indian handles out there, some on quite fine pieces, so I'm not sure anyone would have a reason to hide the fact the handle was brass in the first place.

Thanks for the comments, and the more the merrier!

--Radleigh

19th July 2009, 05:06 AM	#10
CourseEight Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Coral Springs, FL Posts: 222	Thank you for your observations Gene, and for the picture of the mace. A couple of points: (1) Since the pommel is rounded, as is the bolster, this wouldeem to imply that you think the shaft of the mace passed through the guard and attached to the pommel. Therefore the handle (gripped part) was in a single piece with the shaft of the mace. In my experience, however, the khanda handles on Indian pieces are generally a seperate piece rivetted onto the shaft/blade. The mace in the picture seems of this type also. Does anyone have any examples of a seperate guard piece, but a single piece shaft/handle? (2) The paint on the handle looks to me to be accenting the faces and in chevron patterns, so I'm not sure it was ever supposed to cover the whole handle. Also, there are plenty of non-steel (copper, brass, bronze) Indian handles out there, some on quite fine pieces, so I'm not sure anyone would have a reason to hide the fact the handle was brass in the first place. Thanks for the comments, and the more the merrier! --Radleigh