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Originally Posted by SwordsAntiqueWeapons
Dear Ibrahiim,
You may want to digest this victorain period etching further.
Gavin
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Salaams SwordsAntiqueWeapons Thank you for your detail showing the Victorian Lion. The picture of the half bird item is hugely interesting and for that I am grateful also. It appears to be a Serapendiya. (see picture below)
Over the last few weeks I have been defending the Makara .. blindly perhaps... but firmly in my opinion.(not always the best way of doing business
) At the same time (and lacking both support and disagreements both of which are inspirational especially if criticism is constructive) I have been looking sideways with great interest at the other monsters, Deities and grotesques involved in the Kastane Hilt. Many are virtually identical but as I have said not all have vital fish or Peacock tail arrangement... but blow me down some do!!
It seems possible that some highly controvertial alterations may have ensued in the way the Sri Lankan National Sword
may have been been historically re written. Thus this is a highly emotive subject in some quarters. Though the Victorian view of what Europeans thought a Lion looked like I have to say that their construction may have been slightly off regarding accuracy. That to one side .. it will be apparent from my findings in looking at the broader picture that some Deities will begin to fuse .. and who knows I could end up debating the Lion head after all...
The confusion is hardly surprising..Virtually every source I have looked at including museums and auction houses have a bland overall way of encompassing the description of the Kastane hilt. Some explain it in dual form either a Makara or a Lion, others call it a grotesque whilst the dragon word often intervenes. Several mix up the minor deities (if that is what they are) whilst others confuse the face on the handguard as a maiden...etc etc ..
Through the ages, considering the occupation of three invading forces including Portuguese, Dutch, and British (and interference by others) all now fairly well inducted into library via this thread by the way ... and not to mention the now full information package that this thread contains..The Kastane has switched from potential weapon,to court sword, to presentation sword, to badge of office, to badge of rank, to National Sword and carries with it Buddhist forms at the quillons probably from the Vagra structure discussed here.
During its history there is some evidence that restrictions on who could wear it. As early as 1807 Royal Workshops were involved in its production though exactly how this developed or from where is not yet known. It would seem that a junior officer would have a less lavish Kastane and somewhere there is possibly a rank structure/Kastane graph ...or note detailing who could wear what..
Somewhere in the martial arts system in Sri Lanka there may exist confirmation that this weapon was one of the many weapons used before or at the beginning of Portuguese involvement.
Current thinking suggests Royal Workshop collusion with the Portuguese in creating the lavish hilt if not the entire item. If the kingdom which inspired the design was in fact the Karvara dynasty then the hilt is more likely not to be Lion and far more probable to be Makara. If Sinhalese then the design would more likely to be intended as Lion.
In studying the different motiffs I have to add "serapendiya" (a mythical figure of an animal whose head is like that of a lion joined to the body of a bird) head quillon finials. (Frankly I had never even heard of it until I began sweeping about considering the Lion situation) See the pictures below.
In fact, it may well be that #23 The quilons and guards carry Makara and Serapendiya heads interchangeably. Some swords also carry representation of deities on sword hilts in addition to the Animal forms... is correct.
Picture shows Serapendiya. Perhaps this Deity holds the key?
Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi