[Jerseyman]

I’ve finally had a chance to sit down with my copy of ‘Warriors of the Himalayas’ (Donald J LaRocca: Yale University Press 2006) and found one image that might cast some light on this crosspiece. It’s item 74, Curved Sword and Matching Scabbard Mounts.

The researcher draws the conclusion that the hilt might be Mongol married to a later Indian blade.

“Cross guards of the general type seen on this hilt were probably used in Tibet and China by the Mongols during the Yuan dynasty (1279-1368) and are similar to styles used by the Mongols and other peoples as far west as Iran from the fourteenth century onward.”

There is a footnote.

“Philip Tom has pointed out, however, that two swords with short cruciform guards and prominent langets were found in the tomb of the Ming emperor Wanli ( 1573-1620).”

It’s obvious that the iron-working style on this piece is Eastern Tibetan in style, which mine is clearly not.

There is also nothing in the book matching the dragon scale decoration on my piece.

Do we have any members with knowledge or images of Mongol or central asian arms?

Has anyone seen similar decorative styles on any far eastern weapons?

Does anyone have images of a dismounted shamshir hilt so that we can compare construction techniques?

Thanks.