Hi Kisak
,
thank you for replying. Having the sword 'in hand' it feels nicely balanced. I believe that the rivetting was done to re-inforce the 'fixing' of the blade, not, as I had originally thought, as a repair /emergency construction. (as you have pointed out). The patina on the blade around the langet area suggests that the hilt and blade have been together for a very long time.
The tang of the blade was also 'fixed' with resin....much of which has , through age, has 'dried out' and crumbled.
I get the impression that the blade was 'valued' by its owner. The hilt has/had a thick layer of silver ( the deep scoring on the exposed sections of the hilt is original, probably to provide a 'key' to help secure the silver ....and is not due to my 'excessive cleaning'
) The hilt is also larger than the normal Tulwar....It comfortably fits my hand
.
I wondered whether this was a 'captured' blade and was hoping the 'square' shaped stamp (in the picture) would provide clues as to its origins. The inlays may have been added afterwards, but I am not certain.
All the best
David