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Originally Posted by ariel
Very interesting. I never thought of that angle.
But .... where is Lakshmi?
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Considering the quality of the engraving the carver probably thought carving the goddess was outside his skills set. Kind of like the cross of Christianity, its easy carving a cross but try carving Jesus Christ on it. It's not a picture of the goddess but a symbol in her place.
Maybe the mark has nothing to do with the royal umbrella, and its only purpose was to aid the swords wielder with good fortune in battle.
Marius
I will entertain any idea, and it sure looks like the trunk of a palm tree.
However If you look at picture below you will see that i have highlighted the dots below the shade that symbolize suspended pearls. These are a common trait on umbrellas on Indian swords. The handle represents the gods as the center of the universe. And as you can see on the far superior umbrella that I put next to mine that one also has a palm tree for a handle.
I realize that the mark could look like many things but in the context that its in what is a resemble assumption. There are many examples of umbrellas on Indian swords. There is also insentive to put them there both cultural and for status reasons.
I have looked at the palm tree as a possibility but can find no examples of trees carved into swords from this period. The palm branch can be a symbol of victory, so I would not completely rule out putting palm trees on swords.
