Brass-hilted Sosun Pattah for Comment/Discussion with a Translation Request...

Runjeet Singh · 20th October 2011, 05:46 PM

A lovely sword, I love these Zoomorphic pieces. I would describe the animal as a Makara, rather than a South Indian Yali. The south Indian Yali or Yarli, is much more grotesque, especially those from the Tamil Nadu area.

The Makara head pommel coupled with the mirrored Makara langets and qullion, is likely to be a flattering copy of those earlier swords produced in Mysore. We see this design regularly on late 19th Century South Indian brass hilted bichawas made in that area. My guess would be that this sword was late 18th Century or early 19th Century and from the Mysore or Deccan, possibly Hyderabad, this would lend itself well to the Islamic script on the blade.

Regards,
Runjeet Singh

20th October 2011, 05:46 PM	#6
Runjeet Singh Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Warwickshire, England Posts: 150	A lovely sword, I love these Zoomorphic pieces. I would describe the animal as a Makara, rather than a South Indian Yali. The south Indian Yali or Yarli, is much more grotesque, especially those from the Tamil Nadu area. The Makara head pommel coupled with the mirrored Makara langets and qullion, is likely to be a flattering copy of those earlier swords produced in Mysore. We see this design regularly on late 19th Century South Indian brass hilted bichawas made in that area. My guess would be that this sword was late 18th Century or early 19th Century and from the Mysore or Deccan, possibly Hyderabad, this would lend itself well to the Islamic script on the blade. Regards, Runjeet Singh