Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

Oliver Pinchot · 21st December 2014, 06:14 AM

This tulwar is purely Indian, and looks to be an arsenal sword of the early 20th century. Good point regarding attribution there, Estcrh. The term "Oriental" has long since been superseded. We can even take it a step further:

In the 19th century, Wilbrahim Egerton, among others, used the term Indo-Persian to refer to weapons made in India, primarily though not exclusively by the Mughals, which to a greater or lesser extent were based on Persian prototypes. These may be precise copies of Persian work but for a particular Mughal characteristic, or distinctly Indian but showing a degree of Persian influence. A good example of an Indo-Persian sword would be the Mughal shamshir pictured below; it's close in form to the Persian, but displays Mughal characteristics (in the form and scale of the guard and pommel and the type of embellishment found on them.)

Regretably, the term Indo-Persian began to be applied much more generally back in the 1950s, to any weapon which might be Persian or Indian, Afghan, Ottoman or even Caucasian, and so it remains to the present. I mention this because I think most forum members will agree that specificity and clarity in terminology are central to the scientific discourse.

21st December 2014, 06:14 AM	#4
Oliver Pinchot Member Join Date: Sep 2012 Posts: 456	This tulwar is purely Indian, and looks to be an arsenal sword of the early 20th century. Good point regarding attribution there, Estcrh. The term "Oriental" has long since been superseded. We can even take it a step further: In the 19th century, Wilbrahim Egerton, among others, used the term Indo-Persian to refer to weapons made in India, primarily though not exclusively by the Mughals, which to a greater or lesser extent were based on Persian prototypes. These may be precise copies of Persian work but for a particular Mughal characteristic, or distinctly Indian but showing a degree of Persian influence. A good example of an Indo-Persian sword would be the Mughal shamshir pictured below; it's close in form to the Persian, but displays Mughal characteristics (in the form and scale of the guard and pommel and the type of embellishment found on them.) Regretably, the term Indo-Persian began to be applied much more generally back in the 1950s, to any weapon which might be Persian or Indian, Afghan, Ottoman or even Caucasian, and so it remains to the present. I mention this because I think most forum members will agree that specificity and clarity in terminology are central to the scientific discourse. Attached Images Last edited by Oliver Pinchot; 21st December 2014 at 06:25 AM.