Another Tulwar for Comments

Stan S. · 27th November 2011, 07:42 PM

Appears to be very old and has some interesting features:

-The blade has chiseld floral designs on both sides. One is at the ricasso, the other is at the base of the false edge (strange place to put a "cartouche" don't you think?). These are clearly done over cold steel after the blade was forged and could have been added much later. You can clearly see the artsist's hand in these - he may have gone off in one as it does not properly line up with the shape of the blade
- The hilt has thin slightly downcurved quillons. It is also lacking a sun/flower element usually seen on tulwar hilts. Instead, there is a deep dome in a slightly cupped pommel. This dome reminds me of a pulowar hilt
- The scabbard is pretty bizarre. Instead of being covered in fabric or tooled leather as expected from a tulwar scabbard, it looks to be covered with crude raw hide. In all of my years of collectinig Indo persian stuff I have never seen this. The stitching is rough and uneven, and there are still hairs visible in places, although overall leather is very worn and looks like an old parchment. My knowledge of animal furs is non-existant but I would guess some type of a hooved hebivore, a goat, deer, donkey, or even a horse. Another interesting feature of the scabbard is that if worn in a traditional fashion on a left hip, it is flat on the outside but quite concave on the side facing the body (where the stitches are).
- Overall the sword is very light and well balanced. The blade appears to be made of good non-wootz steel

Not really asking any questions but any and all comments are welcome as always

Ibrahiim al Balooshi · 2nd December 2011, 05:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stan S.

Appears to be very old and has some interesting features:

-The blade has chiseld floral designs on both sides. One is at the ricasso, the other is at the base of the false edge (strange place to put a "cartouche" don't you think?). These are clearly done over cold steel after the blade was forged and could have been added much later. You can clearly see the artsist's hand in these - he may have gone off in one as it does not properly line up with the shape of the blade
- The hilt has thin slightly downcurved quillons. It is also lacking a sun/flower element usually seen on tulwar hilts. Instead, there is a deep dome in a slightly cupped pommel. This dome reminds me of a pulowar hilt
- The scabbard is pretty bizarre. Instead of being covered in fabric or tooled leather as expected from a tulwar scabbard, it looks to be covered with crude raw hide. In all of my years of collectinig Indo persian stuff I have never seen this. The stitching is rough and uneven, and there are still hairs visible in places, although overall leather is very worn and looks like an old parchment. My knowledge of animal furs is non-existant but I would guess some type of a hooved hebivore, a goat, deer, donkey, or even a horse. Another interesting feature of the scabbard is that if worn in a traditional fashion on a left hip, it is flat on the outside but quite concave on the side facing the body (where the stitches are).
- Overall the sword is very light and well balanced. The blade appears to be made of good non-wootz steel

Not really asking any questions but any and all comments are welcome as always

Salaams Stan S, It appears to be a Pulouar made in Afganistan. My suspicion is it has been set up for the tourist market as the chased decoration looks hastily done .. There appears to be not a lot of wear in the blade edge and I wonder if this has been chucked the earth for a few months to age it ? Regards Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

AJ1356 · 2nd December 2011, 08:59 AM

This is not Afghani, it is Indian. The engraving dose not look to be new, but then again the pics are not of great quality. This has all the characteristics of a so called Tulwar. I'm thinking this is either a poor mans fighting blade or as stated above a tourist piece.

A.alnakkas · 2nd December 2011, 09:53 AM

Why is this suggested to be a tourist piece? while I cannot make any conclusions about the blade, the hilt looks authentic and steel.

AJ1356 · 2nd December 2011, 12:46 PM

I'd think because of the engravings, but then again it could have been a poor mans balde that was later engraved to make it sell better. all ofcourse are speculations from viewing the pictures.

Stan S. · 2nd December 2011, 04:18 PM

While I am usually eager to acknowledge that some of the pieces in my collection are contemporary replicas, with all due respect I have to disagree with your assessment of this being a tourist item. It is true that the chasing could very well be of a later date (as indicated in my original post). However, chased areas appear to be patinated uniformly with the rest of the blade, which leads me to believe that it was done when the sword was still intended for its original purpose. The blade overall is quite worn. There are not too many nicks but it was clearly sharpenned and re-sharpenned many times over. And most steel loss associated with sharpenning corresponds with the so called "sweet spot". Ofcourse this could be an indication of the previous owner's kids using it to whack bushes in the backyard but that we will never know

Comparing to other swords I have handled or owned, this tulwar is one of the older ones. If I could venture a guess, I would say 18th to early 19th century but it could be much older. The overall form and some peculiarities (i. e. animal hide on the scabbard) point at the Indian northern frontier/Afganistan border as being the origin but this is just my speculation.

In conclusion, I will say that I can see how pictures taken with an iPhone make it difficult to see many features of the item in question. I will try to take some better pics with my DSLR camera over the weekend and will add them to this thread for further review.

Thank you all,

Stan

27th November 2011, 07:42 PM	#1
Stan S. Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Brooklyn, NY USA Posts: 227	Another Tulwar for Comments Appears to be very old and has some interesting features: -The blade has chiseld floral designs on both sides. One is at the ricasso, the other is at the base of the false edge (strange place to put a "cartouche" don't you think?). These are clearly done over cold steel after the blade was forged and could have been added much later. You can clearly see the artsist's hand in these - he may have gone off in one as it does not properly line up with the shape of the blade - The hilt has thin slightly downcurved quillons. It is also lacking a sun/flower element usually seen on tulwar hilts. Instead, there is a deep dome in a slightly cupped pommel. This dome reminds me of a pulowar hilt - The scabbard is pretty bizarre. Instead of being covered in fabric or tooled leather as expected from a tulwar scabbard, it looks to be covered with crude raw hide. In all of my years of collectinig Indo persian stuff I have never seen this. The stitching is rough and uneven, and there are still hairs visible in places, although overall leather is very worn and looks like an old parchment. My knowledge of animal furs is non-existant but I would guess some type of a hooved hebivore, a goat, deer, donkey, or even a horse. Another interesting feature of the scabbard is that if worn in a traditional fashion on a left hip, it is flat on the outside but quite concave on the side facing the body (where the stitches are). - Overall the sword is very light and well balanced. The blade appears to be made of good non-wootz steel Not really asking any questions but any and all comments are welcome as always Attached Images

2nd December 2011, 08:59 AM	#3
AJ1356 Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Nashville Posts: 317	This is not Afghani, it is Indian. The engraving dose not look to be new, but then again the pics are not of great quality. This has all the characteristics of a so called Tulwar. I'm thinking this is either a poor mans fighting blade or as stated above a tourist piece.

2nd December 2011, 09:53 AM	#4
A.alnakkas Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Kuwait Posts: 1,340	Why is this suggested to be a tourist piece? while I cannot make any conclusions about the blade, the hilt looks authentic and steel.

2nd December 2011, 12:46 PM	#5
AJ1356 Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Nashville Posts: 317	I'd think because of the engravings, but then again it could have been a poor mans balde that was later engraved to make it sell better. all ofcourse are speculations from viewing the pictures.

2nd December 2011, 04:18 PM	#6
Stan S. Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Brooklyn, NY USA Posts: 227	While I am usually eager to acknowledge that some of the pieces in my collection are contemporary replicas, with all due respect I have to disagree with your assessment of this being a tourist item. It is true that the chasing could very well be of a later date (as indicated in my original post). However, chased areas appear to be patinated uniformly with the rest of the blade, which leads me to believe that it was done when the sword was still intended for its original purpose. The blade overall is quite worn. There are not too many nicks but it was clearly sharpenned and re-sharpenned many times over. And most steel loss associated with sharpenning corresponds with the so called "sweet spot". Ofcourse this could be an indication of the previous owner's kids using it to whack bushes in the backyard but that we will never know Comparing to other swords I have handled or owned, this tulwar is one of the older ones. If I could venture a guess, I would say 18th to early 19th century but it could be much older. The overall form and some peculiarities (i. e. animal hide on the scabbard) point at the Indian northern frontier/Afganistan border as being the origin but this is just my speculation. In conclusion, I will say that I can see how pictures taken with an iPhone make it difficult to see many features of the item in question. I will try to take some better pics with my DSLR camera over the weekend and will add them to this thread for further review. Thank you all, Stan