hi jim,
i like it when you claim ignorance of a sunject, and then post a lengthy and well-thought contribution :-)
like you, i claim ignorance to any in-depth knowledge of enammelling. it has always been much closer to jens' collective taste than mine, and so it is a subject that he has stepped in to a further degree than i. i have brielfy skimmed through hendleys fantastic book, but always looking for clues that are closer to my own area of study.
there is something i forgot to mention to jens, which may be of great interest. i remember reading, some years back, baden powells book on indian decorative arts, which was mainly based on that of the punjab. baden powell had diverse subjects of interest, and not just the woggles and knee-length shorts to which he was famous for (an english joke that i hope at least tim will get :-)
he spent much time in india studying the decorative arts and he did write a relatively basic, but none the less important book. i will try and re-visit it in the near future to see if it does indeed have relevance to this post. i do have a strong feeling there will be some useful information there as he wrote at the same time as hendley.
also, i completely agree that the '&' could have been a translation error, which hints at an indian writing for the benefit of a foreigner (english). given the time and the style of sword, i feel that rather than an indian working under engligh supervision, the hilt could have been made as part of a durbar. these were competitions for local craftsmen, judged by an english (mostly) committee and with attractive cash prizes. just my theory.
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