Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

Oliver Pinchot · 15th February 2018, 05:01 PM

Due to a number of military conflicts with the Russian Empire, the Qajar era saw the beginning of a strong European political and cultural presence during the reign of Fath 'Ali Shah (1797-1834.) This involved the French and British as well. Between his rule and that of his successor, Muhammed Shah (r.1834-48) all of these empires influenced Persia increasingly.

In terms of arms, flintlock pistols in European style, often with fine older Persian barrels, begin to appear. Sword blades (the form collectors call the shamshir) during this era are most often heirlooms, while the army adopts the Caucasian sword (known in the Persian context as a qaddareh) for use as an infantry sidearm. Muskets are a mixture of matchlock, heirloom tofang, and European-style flintlock (later percussion) muskets.

Persian craftsmanship, especially metalworking, falls off increasingly during this period. Foreign blades, barrels and locks, being much cheaper, had all but replaced traditional weapons to the degree that once-honored swordsmiths were reduced to making scissors and combs to eke out a living. This changed drastically when Nasr al-Din Shah came to power in 1848. His nearly 50-year reign reinvented the Persian state, curbed, or at least mitigated, foreign powers, and revived the economy through a series of tax reforms. Both to invigorate this new economy and emphasize Persian nationalism, swordsmiths were encouraged to begin forging fine blades again after decades of inactivity.

It is to this period in Persian history which many, though not all, of the blades such as those pictured above date. Neoclassicism was a wildly popular model, so many weapons made at this time are evocative of earlier styles, and a considerable number are dated decades, even centuries, before they were actually made. Nasr al-Din Shah promoted the wearing and display of these weapons, many of which are masterpieces, at court (something of a corollary to the revival of German sword makers under Hitler.)

The serpent often represented on blades in this period, whether double- or single-headed, is a semiotic device which refers to Zahhak, a creature of evil which appears in Persian literature as early as the Zoroastrian Avestas (generally considered to have been compiled 200-600 b.c.e.) Zahhak, like most snakes, was known not only for its ill temper, but for its capacity to strike faster than the blink of an eye, characteristics immediately understood by any audience in this cultural group.

15th February 2018, 05:01 PM	#7
Oliver Pinchot Member Join Date: Sep 2012 Posts: 456	Due to a number of military conflicts with the Russian Empire, the Qajar era saw the beginning of a strong European political and cultural presence during the reign of Fath 'Ali Shah (1797-1834.) This involved the French and British as well. Between his rule and that of his successor, Muhammed Shah (r.1834-48) all of these empires influenced Persia increasingly. In terms of arms, flintlock pistols in European style, often with fine older Persian barrels, begin to appear. Sword blades (the form collectors call the shamshir) during this era are most often heirlooms, while the army adopts the Caucasian sword (known in the Persian context as a qaddareh) for use as an infantry sidearm. Muskets are a mixture of matchlock, heirloom tofang, and European-style flintlock (later percussion) muskets. Persian craftsmanship, especially metalworking, falls off increasingly during this period. Foreign blades, barrels and locks, being much cheaper, had all but replaced traditional weapons to the degree that once-honored swordsmiths were reduced to making scissors and combs to eke out a living. This changed drastically when Nasr al-Din Shah came to power in 1848. His nearly 50-year reign reinvented the Persian state, curbed, or at least mitigated, foreign powers, and revived the economy through a series of tax reforms. Both to invigorate this new economy and emphasize Persian nationalism, swordsmiths were encouraged to begin forging fine blades again after decades of inactivity. It is to this period in Persian history which many, though not all, of the blades such as those pictured above date. Neoclassicism was a wildly popular model, so many weapons made at this time are evocative of earlier styles, and a considerable number are dated decades, even centuries, before they were actually made. Nasr al-Din Shah promoted the wearing and display of these weapons, many of which are masterpieces, at court (something of a corollary to the revival of German sword makers under Hitler.) The serpent often represented on blades in this period, whether double- or single-headed, is a semiotic device which refers to Zahhak, a creature of evil which appears in Persian literature as early as the Zoroastrian Avestas (generally considered to have been compiled 200-600 b.c.e.) Zahhak, like most snakes, was known not only for its ill temper, but for its capacity to strike faster than the blink of an eye, characteristics immediately understood by any audience in this cultural group. Last edited by Oliver Pinchot; 15th February 2018 at 05:23 PM.