Comparison of Decorations on Arms and non-Arms Objects
 

Here are two examples of similar decorations on arms and non-arms objects. The first is 17th Century Safavid bowl with inscriptions in thuluth: a call to God to bless the Fourteen Innocents. Next to it - the 19th Century Indian blade with the same script/ inscription. On the right - the Qajar steel dagger and ewer showing very similar floral decorations. I am sure there are more references to differend decorations and similarities between different objects. Would be interesting to see more of them.

Alex,

I find this thread very fascinating, but to be of real value it should be made a sticker or it will disappear within a short wile.

I hope the moderators agree with me, as information’s of this kind will be dropping in now and again, and not be written within the next week or so.

Few collectors ‘attack’ their research like you do, which, to my opinion, is the only way to do it, as other objects than weapons often are better documented and to be found in a greater number.

I don’t have many objects from India other than my collection, but I do have a number of books showing Indian art other than weapons. I will see what I can dig up, and hope the moderators will help.

Jens

This is a great thread, I hope we will see plenty of replies here as this is indeed a big area for discussion.
I'll be taking some pictures later.
;)
EDIT: +1 vote for sticky


A great opportunity for discussion of the art and decoration of so many weapons!! Japanese, Indian, Arabic......

As Jens has very astutely observed, the true study of the history of weapons is not just in the books written on weapons themselves, but particularly in arts, crafts and all forms of material culture of the cultures who used them.

This is the absolute beauty of the study of historical weapons, in that they are often icons reflecting important elements and changes in the cultures overall, as well as beliefs and traditions in the decorative motifs.

Thank you Alex for posting this excellent topic, and moving to permanent status is indeed a great idea.

well gentlemen. I thought I'd make my first submission to this thread a start of the rather large area of Indian foliate designs.
The 'Foliage and flowers' pattern is popular throughout India and features on a huge variety of weapons and metalwork.
I thought I'd start with one of the most recognisable versions of it, the Kashmiri rosette.
Here is a composite picture of three non-weapon items, the top is a silver bowl, the pattern is (IMHO) classic form and the bowl itself is also in the shape of a rosette when you look down on it. The second is a large 2' copper charger depicting the love story of Krishna and Radha, the entire background is the rosette pattern again, but a little cruder than the silver bowl. Thirdly, my beloved copper Hamsa bird, which has a 'skin' tattooed with a more stylised version of the pattern, but I do still think its from Kashmir (Unless you know better?)
Hopefully if we all contribute, this thread will be a great 'resource' for helping identify weapons specific regions from their decorative styles.

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c5...a/Image1-1.jpg

On the first picture you see a huqqa (Zebrowski, 1997, p. 65) and a hilt. On top of the huqqa the decoration is the same as on top of the grip. These decorations are (Stronge, 1985, pp. 56-57) palmetto leaves.

About the huqqa Zebrowski writes, that he was tempted to assign the huqqa to the 17th century, but due to the female figures wearing dresses and strike the pose of Mewar portraits of the early 18th century, the huqqa can’t be 17th century. This means that the decoration with palmetto leaves goes further back that the early 18th century. So all we have on the hilt so far is the palmetto decoration and a possible place of origin – but no proof.

Further research will show if, when and where this decoration was used. A good place to start could be to dig into which clan or sub clan the rulers from Mewar came, and look rulers of the same clan/sub clan in the other states of Rajasthan.

On the other picture is a salver shown with the same kind of decoration; here the place of origin is given to Deccan(?)

Mark Zebrowski: Gold, silver & Bronze from Mughal India. 1997.

Susan Stronge: Bidri Ware. V&A Museum, 1985.

Jens, here is another palmetto pattern on a carved ivory handle of 18th Century Mughal dagger. Also, have you noticed that Atlantia's Kashmiri bowl above shows the same leaves?

A few examples of Turkish silver fittings and similar technique on other silver objects. The niello on a last scabbard matches the Van niello work on a cigarette case.

Alex, interesting examples you show, but does the book give any explanation of what the decoration represent, what kind of flowers are shown an so on?
Hers is another one, I don't know what kind of leaf it is, but it could be a palm leave. In Figiels auction catalogue there is a tolwar with a hilt decoration like this one.
Jens

Excellent work guys!!! These motifs definitely show important consistancies, and present distinct possibilities of aligning some potential regional preferences in these hilts.
I agree this should be placed in 'sticky' position in hopes of pursuing these motifs and comparisons further, please continue!!!

All the best,
Jim

Thank you Jim for making this thread a sticker.

I hope that others will join with their knowledge, so the thread will be a place where collectors interested in Indian weapons can go and learn from what we have found out.

I have written an article on Bundi katars, which will be published in South Asian Studies Journal no 25 in November. Those of you interested in katars can get the Journal, and hopefully enjoy the article. Here is the link to South Asian Studies http://www.basas.org.uk/journal.htm

Hi all,
I know I'm 'expanding' this discussion a little and I hope Alex will forgive me for this little 'aside'?
We have on occasion discussed fittings, scabbard mounts, incised designs etc, and conjectured on how they were produced.
With that in mind, I would like to share (again) my favourite Qajar style Persian bronze tray (which seems fitting in Alex thread as he has helped me so much in understanding it).

We know that this tray was produced in Isfahan in 1895. The style and quality wouldn't look out of place significantly earlier than that though.
Anyway, keep reading, my reasons will hopefully become clear...


http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c5.../IM000113a.jpg
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c5.../IM000113b.jpg

Then, if you turn the tray over, on the undecorated back, there are clear signs of the beginnings of a different design, presumably abandoned in favour of this one.
Why is this interesting?
Because it was being 'drawn' in tiny hammered dots from a sharp needle/point.
Which led me back to the 'face' side and sure enough, in a few places you can see where lines have cut through lines of these tiny dots.
I know this isn't an 'earth shattering' revelation, but it does answer a few questions for me, and I hope others will be interested in how some of this metalwork was actually produced.

Please excuse the pictures of these 'dot' patterns, they are quite indistinct under the patina and I've had to alter the contrast etc, to show them a little more clearly.

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c5...IM000095-2.jpg
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c5...IM000102-2.jpg
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c5...IM000109-1.jpg

Presumably, this is the same method (or one of the favoured ones) for producing similar quality designs in silver etc, I wonder if it was used on steel?

I always assumed that these designs would have been drawn onto the metal with something like engravers blue, then chiseled straight into the metal.
If you look at the picture showing the bird outline, there are around 150/200 dots in just that one tiny element. Estimate/multiply that to the smaller 3" picture of the front side, even with basic outlines it would be several thousand dots, which would equate to (by my estimate) well over 100,000 across the whole tray.
And thats before the engraver even started to 'join the dots' and cut in the detail.
Even a small area such as would be needed for a scabbard mount, or a simpler design cut into the harder steel of a helmet would be an incredibly time consuming process.
Which started me wondering if the engraver had a mechanical tool of some sort with a vibrating point?

I think this thread belongs here as well, so before it gets lost - here it is http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...light=Salumbar
G. N. Pant's name is mentioned now and again, but although I have some of his books, I am not too happy to quote him. The reason for this is, that he, too often writes a name of a hilt, like 'Udaipur hilt', but he does not explain why he thinks it is from Udaipur. The use of this diamond shaped hilt was widely spread, but although he had access to all the armouries due to his job, he does not even give a hint, so you either have to believe what he writes, or put a question mark.

Like I said, on this thread the information’s will be dripping in. Sometimes there will be long between the ‘drippings’ and sometimes not so long, but I feel sure that we will gather important information’s.

The zigzag design was used all over India, like it was in many other countries – through many centuries, but sometimes you find something, wich combines the designs, and I think I have found this in Deccan.

Zebrowski, Mark: Gold, Silver and Bronze from Mughal India. Alexandria Press, London 1997. Shows a plate from the 17th century, and on the hilt of my tulwar the same design is shown. Zebrowski does not only say it is from Deccan, he also says it is from Bidar – the hart of Bidri ware. The hilt is not bidri, but it has the same design, so it is likely to come from the same district.

I don’t think the hilt is 17th century, maybe rather 18th century, but the design is the same.

This is very interesting, Jens
The zigzag is a common Indian pattern indeed. It is also called Chevron pattern. There are vast examples of Chevron pattern including textiles, tiles, architecture, metalwork... in a variety of cultures: Persian, Ottoman, etc. Note the famous Indian Chevron pattern-weld pattern, for example. Presumably, it is a symbol of water, stemming from the double chevron hieroglyph of the old Egyptian civilization!
Here is another sample of Chevron/Zigzag decorations on Indian fittings, I think of late 19th Century:

Jens, unfortunately the books on arms do not provide the same level of details and references as books on other areas of Islamic/Indian Arts. More material can be found in books on architecture, textile, tiles, etc. and much information can be drawn from them and applied to arms decoration. Let me venture one example:

Attached image is of Indian, 18th Century carved sandstone column base with stylised and overlapping acanthus leaves.

The shoulder is decorated with large lotus petals. Their simple and generous proportions contrasting with the intricacy of the acanthus leaves below. The column base is surmounted by an eight-petalled floral dais.

The carving in yellow sandstone and the design of this column base are characteristic of the Rajasthani city of Jaisalmer, a city of mystic beauty enclosed within the walls of an exterior fortress with ninety-nine projecting bastions. Built by Jaisal in the twelfth century, it includes a palace and various groups of residences, all characterised by balconies, windows and entrances carved so exquisitely as to form a true jewel of Rajput craftsmanship.

References:
1. Bianca Maria Alfieri, Islamic Architecture of the Indian Subcontinent, 2000, p. 286 and the photograph on p. 284 in which Alfieri illustrates the balconies, windows and carved decoration characteristic of the style of Jaisalmer with its many contrasting tiers carved with a multiplicity of designs as seen on this column base.

Some comparison between the decoration and manufacturing techniques of yataghans and women ornaments collected in Bulgaria. Also included a barrel band from an old Bulgarian rifle. Many thanks to my friend, who provided the images.

Hi Alex,

Yes the chevron and the acanthus designs are both very interesting and were used a lot.

Building decorations, textiles, miniatures and many other daily things should be used to find the sources to the weapon decoration.

This, together with a lot of other things, will, if can cope with it all, give you a reasonable idea about from where the weapon may origin.

Happy hunting:)

Jens

I have a curious dagger which was discussed here (please scroll down a bit to see it) :
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=5784

The most interesting part of it is a stamped upper mount of the scabbard, which depicts three women. All parts fit to each other perfectly and look like they were put together a very long time ago. The seller told me that this dagger was the part of a private German collection put together at the beginning of the 20th century.

Yesterday I seem to have found the key to the mystery, where this dagger was made (or at least put together)! Take a look at the picture of the Hindu silver amulet from the northern India, rural Himachal Pradesh. These amulets are very typical for this region and appear only there, so I am pretty sure that the dagger originated there too!

These amulets depict in a very distinctive manner three figures, side by side, wearing full skirts, and 3-lobed hats or crowns. It is a traditional folk image representing the Mother Goddess (Hoi Mata) as a trinity. Hoi Mata presides over the well being of the family in the local folk beliefs. (Sources: Oppi Untracht “Traditional Jewelry Of India”, Google :-)

Great stuff. It might still be Kalash an hindu island in Chitral? The work on the handle is very much "Khyber style" for want of better words.

Tim, I have looked for Kalash information in Wiki, and they have some women godesses too, but unfortunately I have found no images or descriptions of them... Kalash live "between" the Himachal Pradesh and Afghanistan, so it is still possible that the dagger was assembled there :)

Tatyana – very well done.

In this Memory Game called collecting it is always exciting to find a ‘new’ part – thank you for showing it:).

I think there can be little doubt that you have found the place of origin for your dagger – congratulations:):).

Jens

Thank you Jens :)

Hi Tatiana, great discovery, although it would be great to know if it is from the Kalash region.
By the way Tim, Kalash are not a "hindu island", they are pagans, and their religion relates in a part with ancient Greek religion, as well as some words in their language.
Below is an interesting article about Kalash:

http://www.sott.net/articles/show/21...rom-Extinction

Some more stuff on Kafirs, Pagans in the area. They may not be Hindus but I would bet that elements of Hinduism are in the mix. From "The Aboriginal Tribes of India" Stephen Fuchs 1975.

I have forgotten to mention, that these amulets were made in the end of 19th - beginning of the 20th century. So it is quite easy to date the dagger too...

A blast from the past
 

Here is a relevant discussion posted but Jens some time back.

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...highlight=sikh

I am sure there are many other threads worth posting here, if you find them, drop them in.

Gav

Salaams all,
It is difficult to allocate importance to one thread or another, however, I believe this sticky is a vital and extremely relevant addition. Im puzzled that it has squillions of hits but only a few trusted stalwarts adding letters. I for one will be adding lots of stuff here since it is the ideal vehicle to record millions of useful decorative techniques. :shrug:

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

Salaams all ~

I have given this some thought and the more thought I give it the bigger becomes the potential for a very full document indeed ! I would suggest that the scope even only considering Islamic and Indian techniques and patterns is huge so that it should be in separate sections in no particular order viz;
1. Ceramics and Glass.
2. Caligraphy.
3. Metalwork (non arms).
4. Woodcarving and stonecarving.
5. Weaving, Rugs, Flatweaves, Needlework and Costumes.
6. Jewelery.
7. Arms.

Therefor I call upon moderator support for what could be a superb multi faceted resource.

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

Continuing the comparisons of Indian decorative techniques.

Koftgari on steel and Bidri on oxidised copper can look superficially similar. But sometimes we see hilts etc where the silver overlay is more substantial, not exactly the usual Koftgari, more like thick applied shaped foils overlaying the base metal.

This is the only example of this technique that I've seen used on 'Bidriware'.
The base metal is a copper alloy which has been chemically oxidised black, the silver designs appear to be applied thick 'foils' giving a more '3d' effect than would usually be seen. This reminds me of several Tulwar hilts that I've had in the past (sadly no longer).

'Bidri' Pot is from my own collection.

Bidri work involves the carving/chiseling of surfaces as does Zar Buland.
My understanding is the Bidri applications are finished flush with the surface of the object and the Zar Buland is raised well above the surface. :confused:

Ah, good catch Gav,

A quick google found:
"Another variant of the bidriwork can be seen in Lucknow’s Zar Buland, where the ornamental designs are raised above the surface"

I didn't know the name for this variation of Bidri.
So what would the name be if the incised foils technique is used on steel?

Here's an interesting description of the process from a maker in India:

"One of the celebrated craft works in the deccan india, bidri of karnataka is one of the most famous arts.bidriware is an ancient art of india that dates back to 14th century - an era of affluent bahmani and baridi dynasties in bidar, karnataka. and it continues to flourish even today. with time the expertise has spread to other regions in india like uttar pradesh, bihar, and west bengal, but the heart of the art still lies in the same historic town. artisans living in bidar region have treasured this rare craftsmanship for centuries. you can find the streets of bidar bustling with incredibly beautiful handicraft of bidriware - a magnificent symbol of prosperity and artistic taste.

The bidri skill and technique came to india in the 14th century from iran or persia of that time. sultan ahmed shah wali was enchanted with beauty of this unique work and decided to bring the form to india. he persuaded the master artisan abdullah bin kaiserand several other artisans to come to india. they carried on their mastery on the decorations of the royal places and havelis. more impressed, the sultan fell in love with the bidri style and organized training centers to enable the local artisan to learn the art. many talented craftsmen benefited from those training centers and they developed into masters of bidriware, spreading the art to every corner of the region.

Process of making bidriware.

The process of making bidriware is long, intricate, and enduring.the first step involves casting which is done in moulds of special soil of bidar. the red soil is made malleable by mixing caster oil and resin. once the mould is ready, the molten alloy of zinc and copper is poured into the mold. and then the article is smoothened with files and scrapes.

Next step involves a black coating and designing. the design is etched free hand first and later sharp and small chisels are used to carve out the design. it requires ultimate control over carving to fuel life into the designs. the designs range from flowers, creepers, geometric patterns, to human figures.

Once the design is carved out fine wires or sheets of silver are gently hammered into the chiseled design pattern. other steps like filing and polishing follow to give a silky smooth look to the object.

The final step involves permanent black coating on the entire surface of the object. again, the black coating is no ordinary. it is made by mixing soil, oil, and carefully chosen chemicals like ammonium chloride. it is this black coating that makes the silver patterns shimmer superbly through the dark background. the object is rinsed, polished with oil to deepen the black matt coating. this adds brilliance to the inlaid silver pattern and then it results into bidriware article."

Best
Gene

Hello,
I am new here, so forgive me whilst I struggle with the mechanics of posting. I thought members might be interested to see an example of the the "spiral with leaves" pattern of decoration that is seen on so many Omani\UAE khunjars, and is often said to be associated with Nizwa, on an Indian brass tray.
Hope this works
Regards
Richard

Salaams Richard G and welcome to the Forum !!

This is an excellent subject in which to begin your observations. The Khanjar you post is typical in all respects of Omani work. The decorative technique is in essence the famous "Arabesque" style copied and modified across the entire region. Richardson and Dorr in their book "The Craft Herritage of Oman" go to some lengths to explain the techniques of Khanjar decoration. Perhaps best summed up; Quote. "Arabesque patterns in spirals are used for the ornamentation of silver chapes and bands for sword and khanjar scabbards and hilts ~ a style commonly referred to as being "shamaliyyah" ~ of the north".Unquote.
The pattern appears on trays and dishes (and on most Islamic decorative objects including tiles, ceramics, carpets and even on henna hand decoration) either worked on by hand or stamped or spun onto the plate from a dye or pattern cutter... spinning was a method of placing a cyclic pattern onto a plate often detected by a centre- plate-dent where the spinning object has been steadied in the rudimentary lathe.
Nizwa is a traditional centre for copper wares as well as agricultural tools and silver and gold work. The tray however is purely Indian with many regions where copper and brass were decorated. Omani trays tend to be quite austere; decorated in geometric bands and Arabesques..whereas Indian work may well have those plus fabulous animals depicted in leafy scrolled borders.
The following techniques are employed in Omani Khanjar making where the craftsmen encompass the work of steel, silver, wood, horn, leather and emboidery skills ~ casting, forging, sheet wire and inlay, filigree, chasing, engraving, stamping, doming, granulation, gilding and burnishing. This was a male dominated skill except that women were involved doing "tatriz" the silver emboidery however today there are apprenticeship schemes with females involved at all stages in this great traditional work. :shrug:

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

Note; Architectural masterpieces in "arabesque" can be seen on the ceilings at Jabrin Palace and Bait al Falaj as well as on the Muscat Merchants houses. The same decorative technique derived from rows of overlapping circles which intersect at their midpoint on an overlapping grid is used on wood carvings on dhows and handcarved doors and windows. The technique goes back in essence to the allowable respected Islamic geometric art form and is a classic in Oman. Favourite silver items decorated thus are the Khanjar, Sword, Hirz silver pendant box and the belt buckle.

After Note ~ Please note that the crown appears to be missing (from the toe of the scabbard) on your otherwise nice example of an Omani Khanjar.

Richard welcome! and thank you for this outstanding post! Very nicely detailed illustrations and well noted on these Omani khanjhar, especially showing the connection to Nizwa, important in discussions we have had on the saif and kattara from Oman and Muscat.
Ibrahiim, thank you for the additional information explaining further the aspects of the use of these decorative styles in Oman. It is fascinating to see how important the study of these styles are in comprehensive aspects of the material culture in particular regions, and how it is reflected in the motif and decoration of the mountings on weapons. The importance of architectural style and motif is often key as well in illustrating these influences, as you have nicely shown.

Thank you so much guys, incredibly informative and well done!!!


All the best,
Jim

Salaams all~ Just adding detail to library. Great books;
1. Markets and Merchants of The Islamic World . The Bazaar. By Walter M Weiss. Kurt- Michael Westerman.
2. and another historical department essential tool in unravelling Omani History ; History of Currency in the Sultanate of Oman. (Central Bank of Oman).
From these I have selected a general picture from the first book of Isfahans Masjed(Mosque) e-Sheykh Lotfollah and swords (with plagiarised cartouche) from the section on Damascus and a decorative page cartouche from the(2) Omani coin publication.

Regards Ibrahiim al balooshi.

Note;The cartouche on the blade is copied from Asad-Allah the unchallenged master swordmaker from Damascus who worked at the Royal Court of Persia Isfahan in 1600. (Safavid)

Salaams All and note to Library~ First a plea that this thread be returned to the top of the front page, Crown Jewels position, we used to call Sticky. This thread had slipped to a descending spot on page 6 where unless you knew it was somewhere in the system it would never be found... This thread is for the growing extra detail and study of dedicated forum input. It was never meant to be cut free to float away. I argue that its importance is eroded and hidden away it is lost to mainstream users whereas developed as a Sticky mega thread it was strategically placed at the cutting edge atop page 1.
With respect I urge that it be put back there, however, as an add on/ late change to my post and having reread the classics thread I advise putting all the classics under one banner say instead of ..calendar...which can be ditched and replaced by Stickys or Flagship Threads or Crown Jewels... perhaps. :)

Islamic Script Styles.

As an opener I show the equipment and project of a specialist Master Calligrapher. I hope to illustrate all the different styles of script herein; as we roll forward.

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

Islamic Script Styles
 

Salaams All~ Note to Library ~ Here are some different styles of script...
Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

Kufic Script.

SEE https://www.google.com/search?q=Kufi...&sa=X&ei=oKluU

Kufic script, a heavy monumental Arabic script suited to stone carving, appears in the earliest surviving Koran manuscripts. In these, the diacritical marks over the letters are sometimes painted in red, and the gold decorations between suras contrast handsomely with the heavy black script. In the Seljuk period, a more cursive flowing script, Naskhi, developed. The two styles were often used for contrast in architecture and decorative contexts.
.................................................. .................................................. ...
Naskh Script

SEE https://www.google.com/search?q=Nask...w=1366&bih=645


Naskh, which means "copying," was developed in the 10th century, and refined into a fine art form in Turkey in the 16th century. Since then it became generally accepted for writing the Quran. Naskh is legible and clear and was adapted as the preferred style for typesetting and printing. It is a small script whose lines are thin and letter shapes are round.
.................................................. .................................................. ....
Thuluth Script

SEE https://www.google.com/search?q=+Thu...ient=firefox-a


Thuluth was the medieval Islamic style of handwritten alphabet. Thuluth (Arabic: "one-third") is written on the principle that one-third of each letter slopes. It is a large and elegant, cursive script, used in medieval times on mosque decorations. It took on some of the functions of the early Kufic script; it was used to write surah headings, religious inscriptions, and princely titles and epigraphs. It was also used for many of the large copies of the Koran produced from the 13th century.
.................................................. .................................................. ....

Ta'liq / Nasta'liq / Farsi Scripts

Ta'liq is a cursive style of lettering developed in Iran in the 10th century. It is thought to have been the creation of Hasan ibn Husain Ali of Fars, but, because Khawaja Abdul Mali Buk made such vast improvements, the invention is often attributed to him. The rounded forms and exaggerated horizontal strokes that characterize the Ta'liq letters were derived primarily from the Riqa' script. The ornateness and sloping quality of the written line had roots in the Towqi script of Ibn Muqla (died 940). Designed specifically to meet the needs of the Persian language, Ta'liq was used widely for royal as well as daily correspondence until the 14th century, when it was replaced by Nasta'liq.
.................................................. .................................................. .

Nasta'liq was the predominant style of Persian calligraphy during the 15th and 16th centuries. The inventor was Mir 'Ali of Tabriz, the most famous calligrapher of the Timurid period (1402-1502). A cursive script, Nasta'liq was a combination of the Naskh and Ta'liq styles, featuring elongated horizontal strokes and exaggerated rounded forms. The diacritical marks were casually placed, and the lines were flowing rather than straight. Nasta'liq was frequently incorporated into the paintings of the early Safavid period (16th century) and is traditionally considered to be the most elegant of the Persian scripts.
.................................................. .................................................

Riq'a Script

Riq'a, the simpler style of everyday writing is very economical and easy to write. It is popular for writing both Turkish and Arabic.
.................................................. ..................................................
Diwani Script

Diwani script is a cursive style of Arabic calligraphy developed during the reign of the early Ottoman Turks (16th-early 17th century). It was invented by Housam Roumi and reached its height of popularity under Süleyman I the Magnificent (1520-66). As decorative as it was communicative, Diwani was distinguished by the complexity of the line within the letter and the close juxtaposition of the letters within the word.

A variation of the Diwani, the Diwani Al Jali, is characterized by its abundance of didactical and ornamental marks.
.................................................. ..................................................

Illustrated below are ; KUFIC, NASHK and THULUTH;

Richard, Ibrahiim,
Nice references!
As Ibrahiim pointed out: "The decorative technique is in essence the famous "Arabesque" style copied and modified across the entire region".
"Indo-Persian" is one of the terms to reflect this fusion, but it is much wider indeed. Shown below is typical Kutch pattern of late 19th Century. Compare it to the silver decorations on above Omani jambiya - the similarities can be seen in technique and design... Indo-Omani? :-)

Salaams ALEX ~ True indeed and in fact the Islamic arch is mirrored in the Hindu traditional archway displayed in the dish above.
Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.