[ariel]

I like these guards very much.
Elgood in his paper about swords from S. India shows several of those and attributes them to Deccan.
One should always remember however lthat blades and handles very, very often came from different areas.
As to the rounded tip: it may not be from age; Indian swordplay practically did not employ stabbing, a lot of Indian swords had their tips not sharp, but rounded just like yours.