Tulwar with inscription - Help needed

[ariel]

Originally Posted by Jim McDougall

1....those downward angled quillons suggest much earlier hilts, and this example seems almost stylistically aligned with the distinct 'paluoar' of Afghanistan. In the 19th century these regions were regarded as 'India' and as seen in Egerton (1885) these paluoars were included the the tulwar spectrum as far as type.

2.While in the linked thread some of the examples had what appeared to be machine etched copies of this blade motif, but yours as I noted seems (visually) to resemble acid etched character, and the corrosive activity seems to support that.

3.After seeing the linked discussion, the three orb symbol comes to mind again, and indeed this was the 'cintamani' which is traditional hallmark represented throughout Central Asian material culture. In India it occurs often as the 'trimurti' and three dots often seen repeated on tulwars, but typically in the north. The 'three' is of course seen symbolically in other cases in religious symbolism, but here, it is the 'cintamani' of Tamerlane, who these people proudly claim their descent from.

1. Up until 1948 NW India included both current India and Pakistan. Till now, the westernmost Pakistan contains the so-called Pakhtunkhwa district that is populated by the same Pashtuns as Afghanistan. The current border follows the Durand line, and successive Afghani governments tried in vain( and still do) absorb the Pakhtunkhwa district. Thus, Afganistan controls the eastern entry , and Pakistan the western entry into the Khyber Pass. Realistically it was a wise decision from the British point of view since it theoretically prevented any invasion.

2. I fully agree. The decorator used very strong acid and exposed the blade to it for a long time. As a result there was a lot of corrosion and the bottom part of some channels got eaten away laterally, underneath the surface.

3. I am in favor of a "Tamerlane" version rather than of " Indian Trimurti". The inscription is Islamic, and Babur, the conqueror of NW India, claimed his descent from both Chingiz Khan and Tamerlane.
Here are two Tamerlane coins with classic round ring symbols arranged in a triangle. Later Tamerlane descendants proudly kept this tamga .

[ariel]

AFAIK, the Cintamani is a mythical jewel fulfilling its owner's wishes. Trimurti in Indian mythology is a unity of three gods and is symbolized as three solid dots. It was popularized by a Russian artist and mystic Nicholas Roerich as a banner of the so-called Roerich Pact, the universal agreement to protect cultural memorials of all religions and cultures.
Picture of Roerich banner attached.

Tamerlane tamga is not a triangle of solid dots, but of rings.
See:
JTC1/SC2/WG2 N5092
2019-06-06

[AHorsa]

I am amazed by your comments and all that interesting information! I will need some time to sort it and to do own investigations based in your information.

I know this sword since my childhood but never paid much attention to it, as it somehow was just always there - nothing special. My father would be very happy if he knew that one of his souvenirs now attracts me so much in my field of collecting. Especially since it seems to be older than 19th century.

My father also left a diary of this trip. When I find the time I will browse it. maybe he mentions where he bought it. I would bet it was in the region where you locate the sword.

Is there some possibility to translate the inscriptions?

Thanks a lot and best wishes
Andreas

[Gonzoadler]

Hello,

once I had a Pulwar/Pulowar with a very similar blade and I have seen further blades like this on some other Tulwars. The eched motifs were of poor quality (like in this case) and also the blade itself was not high end.
So I think the blade is an old touristic piece (maybe early 20th c., maybe later) and the handle was added in the regional taste.
All sabers with this etched blade I have seen were of low quality and in my opinion old wall hangers.

Regards
Robin