Chillanum

[Jim McDougall]

Welcome to our forums Dmitry, and I must say you've made an impressive entrance here with the presentation of this beautiful chilanum, one of the fascinating and less often discussed weapons in the Indian armoury.

I completely agree with Jens and Dom in the 17th century assessment, well supported with the great detail Jens has added regarding Bikaner, which stands as one of the defining benchmarks in studying the weapons of India.
With many forms of ethnographic weapons, and the fact that they remained in use for such long periods, with the added complication of many revival type versions, it is understandable that many scholars are inclined to stay to the conservative side in dating them. Naturally India is very much a case in point, and adds very much to the intrigue in studying thier weapons.

I would say you have struck a chord here with this beauty! and I really look forward to further discussion on this and the chilanum form itself. The long slender blade is certainly different than examples we are familiar with, and it is interesting to note the structural shape of the hilt to swords of the period.
The recurve and profile of these blades recall of course the pesh kabz of the northern regions, and here we have again established the connections between those areas and the Deccan, clearly affecting the weapon styles.

All best regards,
Jim