Another pulwar. Comments?

[Marcus]

I actually added these before to the thread on the pulwar with the "Enfield blade" but no one seemed to notice. Here they are on their own.

[Jim McDougall]

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?

[Sajen]

Hello Marcus,

not the area of my own collecting but it's a very nice blade, is it laminated or wootz? The blade would benefit from a polishing and maybe mild etching.

Regards,
Detlef

[Marcus]

I'll have more to say and more picture after it arrives, which probably will not be for a couple weeks.

[Marcus]

I have the sword now. The blade does want some attention. It was in worse condition than shown in the vendor's pictures with a couple areas of red rust that I have attended to. I'll spend some more time with it next weekend. In the meantime, I have a question to put to the group.
Does anyone know the origin or significance to the tassel shaped finials on the quillons?

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by Marcus

I have the sword now. The blade does want some attention. It was in worse condition than shown in the vendor's pictures with a couple areas of red rust that I have attended to. I'll spend some more time with it next weekend. In the meantime, I have a question to put to the group.
Does anyone know the origin or significance to the tassel shaped finials on the quillons?

These quillon finials are rather distinctively characteristic of the 'paluoar' hilt form associated with Afghan regions, and actually despite their ultra stylized features, are not representative of tassels.
Actually they seem to recall early Ottoman influences, as often entwined with Central Asian traditional symbolisms which look often to Timurid origins.
These quillon terminals, though in many cases seen as stylized zoomorphic figures such as Makara or dragon heads, are described by David Alexander as representing pierced and lobed palmette tips.
( " The Silver Dragon and the Golden Fish: An Imperial Ottoman Symbol", Gladius, XXIII, 2003, fig.10,11; pp238-239).

It seems these might be considered equally Persian influences as filtered through Ottoman circumstances.

[Marcus]

I don't think this is a great match to the pulwar finials.

[Jim McDougall]

The quillons on your example are certainly not a match. Actually my reference to Alexander was not to suggest that it was identical to any particular illustration or example, but to note the discussion which talked about these downturned quillon terminals.
Clearly those on your example are so highly stylized it is difficult to discern what they might represent, but the reference was simply to serve as a benchmark.

[rickystl]

Very nice Marcus. My favorite sword style.

Rick