Tulwar marking question 4

Jim McDougall · 20th February 2007, 04:12 AM

Hi Bj,
This is really an unusual tulwar! I have never seen that type of piercing in a tulwar pommel, and the blade on this appears of European backsword form. The double fuller reminds me of a type of Caucasian straight backsword blade that often occurs on Khevsur straight sabres of late 19th c. as does the basic blade profile, but whether this is one of these or actually European is uncertain at this point.
The pierced hilt reminds me of this application sometimes seen on mid-19th c. cavalry sabres on the bowl type guards, particularly Austrian, however I am not suggesting influence, only similarity. As I have noted, this piercing is most unusual, and more research for comparison is needed.

The markings appear to be a native armourers attempt at reproducing the celestial markings from European talismanic blades with moon, stars etc.
The degraded squiggle markings are so vague that the intent is unclear, however similar marks are seen on SEA weapons, and sometimes seen as far to the west as Bengal. Since this tulwar seems far to the northwest, the use of these as markings seems again, unusual.

All best regards,
Jim

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20th February 2007, 04:12 AM	#2
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,192	Hi Bj, This is really an unusual tulwar! I have never seen that type of piercing in a tulwar pommel, and the blade on this appears of European backsword form. The double fuller reminds me of a type of Caucasian straight backsword blade that often occurs on Khevsur straight sabres of late 19th c. as does the basic blade profile, but whether this is one of these or actually European is uncertain at this point. The pierced hilt reminds me of this application sometimes seen on mid-19th c. cavalry sabres on the bowl type guards, particularly Austrian, however I am not suggesting influence, only similarity. As I have noted, this piercing is most unusual, and more research for comparison is needed. The markings appear to be a native armourers attempt at reproducing the celestial markings from European talismanic blades with moon, stars etc. The degraded squiggle markings are so vague that the intent is unclear, however similar marks are seen on SEA weapons, and sometimes seen as far to the west as Bengal. Since this tulwar seems far to the northwest, the use of these as markings seems again, unusual. All best regards, Jim