Significance of Beaded Edges/Borders on South Indian Weapons?

[Jim McDougall]

Nihl, no need to apologize, trust me I think most of us are with you, and the resounding drama of every day life takes precedence!
I like very much that you posed a most intriguing query here, and you also included your established research and line of thinking toward it. This set a valuable benchmark for discussion, which has for the most part developed very well.

As has been well addressed by Robert Elgood, the presence of architectural designs is well established in many Indian weapons and their decoration, as they have become religiously oriented in themselves. In this the designs and decoration often reflect temples, iconography and the naturally religious themes.


With this being the case, I think your effort to determine possible symbolism in this distinct style of decoration is well placed. The observations on similar use in other contexts and in other cultural spheres were I think simply to reflect the scope of this type decoration in considering outside influences.


As has been noted, the European influence is certainly feasible, and indeed highly effected Indian culture in many aspects of material culture. It is well known that European art, much of it in grimoires and herbals, became firmly emplaced in much Mughal art and design. With weapons, while trade blades became a commercial entity post contact, the influence of hilt designs, foremost that of the 'basket hilt' added to the khanda was profoundly notable.

With these khanda, termed 'Hindu basket hilt' (and further 'firangi' with foreign blade) some even had rapier blades, despite the fact that fencing and such European sword play had nothing to do with Indian techniques.


The influences of art, philosophy, religion etc. transcend any sort of boundaries, and with the ever present conditions of trade, colonialism and cultural expansion, are virtually inevitable.


Tradition and commemoration are typically what carries forth the use of earlier designs, style and such features from earlier periods within a particular culture. This is one of the great difficulties in assessing ethnographic arms in that the same forms have remained in use for centuries and often must be examined for highly nuanced and subtle clues in their character. That is what is so compelling here with this very valid query, and it is great to see the ideas and approaches at work.

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Indian beadwork is well recorded in Indian jewellery going back to early Hindu beginnings and I have shown similar decorative style in Arms. what I can now add to the discussion are examples in Armour(A Vambrace circa mid 1600) and artwork (to help define the use of beads in art) beadwork therefor seems to have found a link to jewellery and traditional artwork so that the leap from there to arms and armour would seem a normal move involving simple pattern styles and accepted practice. Architecture is not so obvious (if it exists at all) perhaps because of the scale of the objects and the practicality of using beadwork on buildings simply isn't logical ..beadwork is by nature almost miniscule whereas buildings are in gigantic scale.
My Reference is India 1300 to 1900 A Met Museum Publication.