You really do have a great eye Rick!!!! This seems very much to be a 'fusion' item and keenly illustrates the kinds of hybridization that evolved in the trade spheres.
The mounts on the scabbard remind me of the styles used on the sa'ifs produced in Hyderabad for the Arab trade, and that often carried if course into the East Africa/Red Sea spheres which in turn entered the caravan routes of North Africa/Meditteranean routes.
The enameling is characteristic in process of Mughal Northern India, but was of course used in varying degree elsewhere in India into the Deccan. The flueret style quillon terminals are typically associated with the Deccani regional forms on hilts but extend into N.India as well. This has always been an interesting note on these piso podang hilts in thier similarity to these Indian hilts (Deccani and the Afghani paluouar) with pommel cups rather than discs.
Good call on the blade as well, and the cross section does seem very much like these trade blades which occur on kaskaras. Again, the cross diffusion of these blades has presented many anomalies with North African type blades mounted with Indo-Persian hilts.
It seems that these kinds of weapons with features and elements of varying regions would most certainly have been found throughout trade centers in the Red Sea areas during the British condominium in Egypt/Sudan and the Aden Protectorate. Weapons from Sumatra, India, Central Asia and the Middle East all entered these trade centers and from there into caravan networks.
I think Gene may be onto something as well, those seemingly strategic images on the chape lip..are they characters?
A most colorful representation of trade diffusion...and beautiful piece!
Thank you for posting Charles,
Jim
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