An Indian Sword with a Causcasian Blade

RSWORD · 19th December 2014, 01:31 AM

Charles,

Your pictures don't really do this piece justice. You can't get a feeling for the size and heft of the sword and the blade is much more impressive in person than in your pictures. Really nice and interesting sword! I hope you learn more about the marking!

Rick · 19th December 2014, 01:32 AM

Color me green .

Oliver Pinchot · 19th December 2014, 01:55 AM

Charles, your blade is not only a fine Caucasian one, but was made by an Armenian smith cited by Emma Astvatsaturian in Oruzhiye Narodov Kavkaza (Atlant, 2004-- this is the most recent, expanded edition) p. 334. She pictures this exact mark! Congratulations, again!

CharlesS · 19th December 2014, 12:26 PM

Thanks for the input guys!

Oliver, this is outstanding info....so is that simply the maker's mark, or does it perhaps designate a "trade blade" status to the blade as another person theorized? Perhaps the book does not go into that much detail.

Andrew · 19th December 2014, 04:03 PM

Wow. Gorgeous. Thanks for sharing this with us, Charles!

Oliver Pinchot · 19th December 2014, 07:07 PM

Charles, trade blades were made in the southern Caucasus, but I would not place this among them. The work is very fine and though twistcore blades certainly come up, they aren't common, especially not in this length.

The scenario probably went something like this: Imperial Russia and Persia went head to head over territory many times in the early 19th century, beginning with the devastation of Georgia by Agha Muhammad Khan in 1795. The blade was likely made to order for a local client, probably a Georgian of substantial means. Unlike many others, the Georgian nobility regularly led their troops into battle, thus a fine weapon like this one would have been wielded on the front lines. We may assume it was captured and found its way around Iran and down into India through trade thereafter. I would suggest that the mark is that of an individual, and a master at that. Several noted Armenian smiths worked between Nakhchivan and Tbilisi, and this is probably one of them.

The form of the hilt is also a bit atypical, showing a conflation of styles which is very appealing. The gold work is both lavish and in excellent taste; to me, this suggests that the last owner understood the quality of the blade and had a hilt of comparable quality made for it or perhaps used an heirloom.

estcrh · 20th December 2014, 01:24 AM

CharlesS, great blade, thanks for sharing. Oliver, great information, thanks for sharing.

19th December 2014, 01:55 AM	#3
Oliver Pinchot Member Join Date: Sep 2012 Posts: 465	Charles, your blade is not only a fine Caucasian one, but was made by an Armenian smith cited by Emma Astvatsaturian in Oruzhiye Narodov Kavkaza (Atlant, 2004-- this is the most recent, expanded edition) p. 334. She pictures this exact mark! Congratulations, again! Attached Images

19th December 2014, 07:07 PM	#6
Oliver Pinchot Member Join Date: Sep 2012 Posts: 465	Charles, trade blades were made in the southern Caucasus, but I would not place this among them. The work is very fine and though twistcore blades certainly come up, they aren't common, especially not in this length. The scenario probably went something like this: Imperial Russia and Persia went head to head over territory many times in the early 19th century, beginning with the devastation of Georgia by Agha Muhammad Khan in 1795. The blade was likely made to order for a local client, probably a Georgian of substantial means. Unlike many others, the Georgian nobility regularly led their troops into battle, thus a fine weapon like this one would have been wielded on the front lines. We may assume it was captured and found its way around Iran and down into India through trade thereafter. I would suggest that the mark is that of an individual, and a master at that. Several noted Armenian smiths worked between Nakhchivan and Tbilisi, and this is probably one of them. The form of the hilt is also a bit atypical, showing a conflation of styles which is very appealing. The gold work is both lavish and in excellent taste; to me, this suggests that the last owner understood the quality of the blade and had a hilt of comparable quality made for it or perhaps used an heirloom. Last edited by Oliver Pinchot; 19th December 2014 at 07:42 PM.

19th December 2014, 01:31 AM	#1
RSWORD Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Greensboro, NC Posts: 1,087	Charles, Your pictures don't really do this piece justice. You can't get a feeling for the size and heft of the sword and the blade is much more impressive in person than in your pictures. Really nice and interesting sword! I hope you learn more about the marking!

19th December 2014, 01:32 AM	#2
Rick Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 6,339	Color me green .

19th December 2014, 12:26 PM	#4
CharlesS Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Greenville, NC Posts: 1,854	Thanks for the input guys! Oliver, this is outstanding info....so is that simply the maker's mark, or does it perhaps designate a "trade blade" status to the blade as another person theorized? Perhaps the book does not go into that much detail.

19th December 2014, 04:03 PM	#5
Andrew Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: USA Posts: 1,725	Wow. Gorgeous. Thanks for sharing this with us, Charles!

20th December 2014, 01:24 AM	#7
estcrh Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: USA Posts: 1,492	CharlesS, great blade, thanks for sharing. Oliver, great information, thanks for sharing.