Another pulwar. Comments?

Jim McDougall · 28th October 2016, 07:37 PM

Good solid example of these Afghani regional favorites. It is probably better to have its own thread as it receives more focus than in the other which is more aligned with the Enfield topic.

Clearly the hilt follows the well known paluoar style, which while strongly attributed to Afghanistan, is actual a northern form of the Indian tulwar with distinct Deccani influence.

The blade on this appears to be of a Persian trade blade form, with the wrap around channeling as well as partitioned fullers. I have seen similar on shamshirs classified as Afghan as well as even on Khevsur sabres. This seems certainly 19th into 20th c.

I always wonder of some of the chiseled motif in these hilts might correspond to some items of material culture in these regions which may narrow down the field regionally.

It is an interesting talking point as well that apparently 'paluoar' is not the locally used term for these swords, and it is unclear where that particular word came from. I believe it is likely transliterated from the Indian term 'tulwar' which generically means sword.
Anybody recall details on that?

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28th October 2016, 07:37 PM	#2
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,196	Good solid example of these Afghani regional favorites. It is probably better to have its own thread as it receives more focus than in the other which is more aligned with the Enfield topic. Clearly the hilt follows the well known paluoar style, which while strongly attributed to Afghanistan, is actual a northern form of the Indian tulwar with distinct Deccani influence. The blade on this appears to be of a Persian trade blade form, with the wrap around channeling as well as partitioned fullers. I have seen similar on shamshirs classified as Afghan as well as even on Khevsur sabres. This seems certainly 19th into 20th c. I always wonder of some of the chiseled motif in these hilts might correspond to some items of material culture in these regions which may narrow down the field regionally. It is an interesting talking point as well that apparently 'paluoar' is not the locally used term for these swords, and it is unclear where that particular word came from. I believe it is likely transliterated from the Indian term 'tulwar' which generically means sword. Anybody recall details on that?