Hello Jim and thank you for an excellent reply summarizing what is so far outlined. If I may quote from my last post ~The subtle floral and vegetal designs of the San Diego hilt not only proclaim its Mughal origin, but also create a decorative program that elegantly contrasts and complements its sheer surface''. as being the archetypal description of Mughal work... placing floral design at the zenith of the famous Mughal art style...
and if I can refer to Dora Shikoh since he was executed as a Heretic because he tried with other Mystics to fuse Hinduism and Islam together... His fate was sealed at that point... and the mystery was developed from then on...The Hindu system already had floral Talisman as you state ...and since Aurangzeb completely missed the point of the artistic flowers and focused instead on erasing any written work that Daro had added to that artwork (by painting over with gold paint) we may never know the depth of secrecy hidden in the paintings..if indeed such secrets exist.
In conclusion and whilst no conclusion may exist on the topic here, I fully commend the study of Indian arms (often disregarded by 19th C weaponry writers and ethnographic experts) and especially taking difficult subject matter like this in an attempt to get a beam of light into the far flung corners of the subject as it opens up the entire spectrum of Indian Arms and Armour and puts the pen in the hand of all of us.
Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.
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