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Jim McDougall · 18th June 2015, 08:37 PM

Most attractive example Rajesh!
Actually while indeed a 'khanda' and the hilt of the 'form' of course used by the Marathas, I would consider this example again, far into Northwest Frontier regions, and most plausibly Rajput. The rosette seems an affectation favored in these regions. What is significant here is that the sabre blade appears to be a British M1788 light cavalry sabre blade in the cross section (typically regarded as 'Montmorency') used by James Wooley in Birmingham in his examples of the form. I have seen examples of shamshir hilt tulwars with these same blades and considered them to be from Sind regions, however Deccani examples are also known.

It is well known that British light cavalry blades were often mounted in Indian hilts as these M1788's are....however the most common instances were the M1796 light cavalry blades quite commonly used in tulwars.
In many accounts of cavalry actions in India by British officers note the astounding effectiveness of Indian horsemen with their sabres, and were horrified to discover they were using their own British blades!! honed to razor sharpness.

18th June 2015, 08:37 PM	#8
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 9,758	Most attractive example Rajesh! Actually while indeed a 'khanda' and the hilt of the 'form' of course used by the Marathas, I would consider this example again, far into Northwest Frontier regions, and most plausibly Rajput. The rosette seems an affectation favored in these regions. What is significant here is that the sabre blade appears to be a British M1788 light cavalry sabre blade in the cross section (typically regarded as 'Montmorency') used by James Wooley in Birmingham in his examples of the form. I have seen examples of shamshir hilt tulwars with these same blades and considered them to be from Sind regions, however Deccani examples are also known. It is well known that British light cavalry blades were often mounted in Indian hilts as these M1788's are....however the most common instances were the M1796 light cavalry blades quite commonly used in tulwars. In many accounts of cavalry actions in India by British officers note the astounding effectiveness of Indian horsemen with their sabres, and were horrified to discover they were using their own British blades!! honed to razor sharpness. Last edited by Jim McDougall; 19th June 2015 at 06:25 AM.