A Rajput with his sword

[Jens Nordlunde]

Jeff,
The Raja from Rajasthan you show in post #4 could very well be from Bundi, as they seemed to have fancied this kind of ’lower’ hairstyle. Maybe it is even Maharao Raja Raghbir Singh as he and his father seem to have been especially fond of this style. If it is, the picture is likely to have been taken in the first quarter of 20th century.

Bill,
The tulwar discs you show in post #11 are interesting, but what does the hilt on the one to the right look like? The one with the steel 'pearls'.

Jim,
Here is another one, it has been shown before, but not in this connection.

[galvano]

Hello Jim
other photographs.
and the Arab mark on the blade
galvano

[Tim Simmons]

Could these marks refer to Sind or other areas now Pakistan? not Arab. The symbol is on the Pakistan flag.

[Rick]

Galvano,
Could you try another close up of the stamp on the blade ?
Wipe the oil away first .
Thanks,

That is a fine old warrior; I wonder if it's Afghan .

[Jens Nordlunde]

Good guess Rick. I wonder what the whole hilt looks like!

[Rick]

Hi Jens,
You can see it entire in post #6 .

Circles with dots on the rivet washers and the simple line and dot decoration of the hilt hint of it (my opinion); the blade stamp is possibly that of Mazar I Sharif ?
Or do I just imagine a slight resemblance to that mark everywhere I look ?

Then there's the terminal on the knucklebow which resembles the down turned quillon on a pulouar .

[Jim McDougall]

OK Rick! Its 'Great Game'-o-phobia!! You're seeing our much discussed Afghan armoury stamp again! Actually though, I think that stamp occurred in a different position on the blades, at least on those Afghan military sabres. It seems it was the cartouche with the Mosque with what appear to be cannons on either side if I recall, and was stamped in the ricasso block nearest the blade edge. I dont think this is the stamp, but as you note, we cant really see it, and I dont recall if that stamp was found on any other weapons or blade locations.

I do agree that this may well be a talwar from those northern regions near Afghanistan, though the actual hilt form favors those typically considered of Rajasthan manufacture. If you recall the thread from last March, by Pukka Bundook ("Bad News Tulwar") where the pretty much trashed blade was beautifully restored by Bundook, and the hilt (though of variant form) had a rivet which was covered by a floral device very similar to this, presuming this to be the original affectation.

That particular talwar with similar placed device seems somewhat associated with this example with the dotted line decor. The Pukka Bundook example was apparantly furbished at some point near Afghan regions, evidenced by the scabbard it was found in, which had the pierced mounts and long, fluted piece at the base, as found with Afghan paluoar scabbards. Perhaps a somewhat stretched association, but still suggesting far north regions.

The stylized semi circle with dot in the floral device on the chowk may suggest the crescent and star as noted, but more research on the symbolism. More typically found in Afghan regions is the full circle enclosing a dot.

Also interesting is the rather 'mechanical' looking lines with dots, which seem, to recall structured metal with rivets, such as in armour. It seems that the Pukka Bundook talwar had on the blade a flourish device inscribed at the beginning of the fuller and was outlined with dot type accent throughout the flourish which itself accented the fuller.This type inscribing was typical on European blades and was probably copied by the armourer, though very crudely from trade or captured examples. It does seem worthy of note in comparison with this unusual motif.