Wootz Peshkab

[DaveS]

Here is a wootz peshkab with walrus ivory handle The blade is 11 1/2
long, 15 1/2 inches overall. There is a gold rosette on the end of the handle.
The toe piece must be a later replacement. The velvet covering is pretty
much completly intact. Any ideas as to age...........Dave.

[ariel]

Beautiful..... Must be at least beginning of the 19th century, judging by the quality of wootz and patination of the walrus ivory.

Strictly speaking, it is what is called Karud (as first defined by Buttin and then adopted by Holstein, Moser and Stone), but Elgood and Flindt ruefully noticed in the footnotes to the Flindt's chapter on weapons from Bukhara, that they could not figure out the veracity of that name. They suggest that it is likely to be a local variant or just a mis-pronounciation of the word "kard" ( not all European travellers to Central Asia possessed the magic ear of Prof. Henry Higgins:-))

Pesh Kabz is curved and is Iranian in origin. Karud and choora, although related to Pesh Kabz, are from further East: Afghanistan, Central Asia, Indo-Persian realm.

I am still not sure that karud and choora are separate entities: the blades are identical, and only the handles are different. IMHO, that may be just a local variant peculiar to the Mahsud tribe. Ironically, both "kard" and "choora" are just "knife", but in different languages.

[DaveS]

Hi Ariel:
I was thinking about the same as far as the date, early 19th cent.
There is a small swivel on the front of the scabbard. Would this be for a
small chain or cord to secure it to a belt? Tirri calls this type of blade both
a peshkab or a choora. Like you stated maybe both tribal or regional names
for the same knife........Dave.