Indian Tegha Sword Stamp Inquiry

bsingh2311 · 3rd July 2019, 08:01 AM

Greetings folks,

I appreciate your interest in my topic.

I’m wondering if anyone could shed some light onto the origin of the stamp on this sword. The sword is from the 19th Century India.

I look forward to the replies.

Thank you.

Jens Nordlunde · 3rd July 2019, 10:39 PM

Welcom to the forum.
Please show the whole sword. Why do you think it is the kind of sword you write it is?
The mark can be seen on many Indian swords, sometimes only one mark, but mostly several marks of the same kind.

Jim McDougall · 4th July 2019, 05:23 AM

I also welcome you here! and as Jens has noted, an image of the entire sword is helpful as the designation of 'tegha' is often misunderstood and even misapplied on many Indian swords. While we understand your key interest in the marking, it is sometimes the case that markings may be better explained if full context is known.

For example, this particular mark is a copy of what was a known stamp used in Northern Italy, and often accompanied the 'eyelash' or 'sickle' markings which were profoundly familiar and often used by other arms centers.
These sometimes occurred in pairings or groupings as well.
They are from late 16th century, but used in Germany and Styria well through the 17thc.

India is known to have copied the 'sickle' marks often, but at times used this marking (sometimes referred to as 'mill rind' or 'twig' in European parlance) and often placed these in the blade location you show. In this location (near the distinctive blunted edge known as the 'Indian ricasso' on Indian blades, it seems this was some sort of traditional place to place these marks. Others used were the 'man in the moon' (from German copies of Spanish marks in 17th c); as well as the 'cog wheel' another Italian, then German mark same period.

The use of these marks on Indian blades spuriously placed carried well into and through the 19th c. representing venerable quality of earlier European blades.

The two first photos are similarly marked Indian tulwars with these type blades and the next a 16th c. European sword with similar mark...note blade location.

bsingh2311 · 4th July 2019, 10:26 PM

Thanks for the warm welcome. I was posting on my mobile device, which meant I was unable to resize the image as it was too large to upload to the forum. Alas, I've resized and uploaded an image of the full sword.

I may be wrong but after examining the thickness and curve of the blade, I recognize it as a tegha/tegh.. What are your opinions?

In regards to the stamp, I've seen many 'eyelash' stamps on various blades but haven't seen one like this ever. Are these stamps that've been put on the swords after battle? or simply a stamp of the manufacturer?

Thanks

bsingh2311 · 6th July 2019, 07:28 AM

Thanks for the warm welcomes. I couldn't attach a full size image before as the images exceeded the max size for the forum. I've attached a full size pic now.

I look forward to your comments.

ariel · 6th July 2019, 12:20 PM

You may call it tulwar on the basis of general construction and the general style of the handle, or you may call it tegha due to its wide and massive blade. That's the matter of personal preference and does not matter much : either name means a long-bladed weapon, a sword.
What is obvious, this is an Indian blade with a spurious European style mark.
19th century is most likely correct. Trying to pinpoint its origin by the style of the handle is an exercise in futility: handles were changed left and right and quite likely it was a second or third marriage for both of them.

Jens Nordlunde · 6th July 2019, 02:21 PM

bsingh, your sword seems to be what we mostly call a tegha. You may not have seen this marking before, but as Jim writes, they were used together with many other markings, copying European markings to show the 'quality' of the blade.

Attached is one of my teghas.
Length 92 cm
Length of blade 80 cm with a 'T' section at the back. Width of blade 4.5 cm
Ricasso 7.5 cm
Hilt 19.5 cm
Disc diameter 7 cm
Width of quillons 10 cm
Langets 7.5 cm
On each side of the blade there is an inscription. On one side it says Tegha, and on the other side it says Shri Krishna Wodeyar III. Although I doubt that it is Deccan work, it must have been in the Hyderabad armoury in Deccan when Krishna III took over.

3rd July 2019, 08:01 AM	#1
bsingh2311 Member Join Date: May 2019 Location: Mars. Posts: 10	Indian Tegha Sword Stamp Inquiry Greetings folks, I appreciate your interest in my topic. I’m wondering if anyone could shed some light onto the origin of the stamp on this sword. The sword is from the 19th Century India. I look forward to the replies. Thank you. Attached Images

4th July 2019, 05:23 AM	#3
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 9,945	I also welcome you here! and as Jens has noted, an image of the entire sword is helpful as the designation of 'tegha' is often misunderstood and even misapplied on many Indian swords. While we understand your key interest in the marking, it is sometimes the case that markings may be better explained if full context is known. For example, this particular mark is a copy of what was a known stamp used in Northern Italy, and often accompanied the 'eyelash' or 'sickle' markings which were profoundly familiar and often used by other arms centers. These sometimes occurred in pairings or groupings as well. They are from late 16th century, but used in Germany and Styria well through the 17thc. India is known to have copied the 'sickle' marks often, but at times used this marking (sometimes referred to as 'mill rind' or 'twig' in European parlance) and often placed these in the blade location you show. In this location (near the distinctive blunted edge known as the 'Indian ricasso' on Indian blades, it seems this was some sort of traditional place to place these marks. Others used were the 'man in the moon' (from German copies of Spanish marks in 17th c); as well as the 'cog wheel' another Italian, then German mark same period. The use of these marks on Indian blades spuriously placed carried well into and through the 19th c. representing venerable quality of earlier European blades. The two first photos are similarly marked Indian tulwars with these type blades and the next a 16th c. European sword with similar mark...note blade location. Attached Images

4th July 2019, 10:26 PM	#4
bsingh2311 Member Join Date: May 2019 Location: Mars. Posts: 10	Thanks for the warm welcome. I was posting on my mobile device, which meant I was unable to resize the image as it was too large to upload to the forum. Alas, I've resized and uploaded an image of the full sword. I may be wrong but after examining the thickness and curve of the blade, I recognize it as a tegha/tegh.. What are your opinions? In regards to the stamp, I've seen many 'eyelash' stamps on various blades but haven't seen one like this ever. Are these stamps that've been put on the swords after battle? or simply a stamp of the manufacturer? Thanks Attached Images

6th July 2019, 07:28 AM	#5
bsingh2311 Member Join Date: May 2019 Location: Mars. Posts: 10	Thanks for the warm welcomes. I couldn't attach a full size image before as the images exceeded the max size for the forum. I've attached a full size pic now. I look forward to your comments. Attached Images

6th July 2019, 02:21 PM	#7
Jens Nordlunde Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Europe Posts: 2,718	bsingh, your sword seems to be what we mostly call a tegha. You may not have seen this marking before, but as Jim writes, they were used together with many other markings, copying European markings to show the 'quality' of the blade. Attached is one of my teghas. Length 92 cm Length of blade 80 cm with a 'T' section at the back. Width of blade 4.5 cm Ricasso 7.5 cm Hilt 19.5 cm Disc diameter 7 cm Width of quillons 10 cm Langets 7.5 cm On each side of the blade there is an inscription. On one side it says Tegha, and on the other side it says Shri Krishna Wodeyar III. Although I doubt that it is Deccan work, it must have been in the Hyderabad armoury in Deccan when Krishna III took over. Attached Images

3rd July 2019, 10:39 PM	#2
Jens Nordlunde Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Europe Posts: 2,718	Welcom to the forum. Please show the whole sword. Why do you think it is the kind of sword you write it is? The mark can be seen on many Indian swords, sometimes only one mark, but mostly several marks of the same kind.

6th July 2019, 12:20 PM	#6
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	You may call it tulwar on the basis of general construction and the general style of the handle, or you may call it tegha due to its wide and massive blade. That's the matter of personal preference and does not matter much : either name means a long-bladed weapon, a sword. What is obvious, this is an Indian blade with a spurious European style mark. 19th century is most likely correct. Trying to pinpoint its origin by the style of the handle is an exercise in futility: handles were changed left and right and quite likely it was a second or third marriage for both of them.