Is This A Pala With An Indian Blade?

[Aslan Paladin]

Originally Posted by ariel

The velvet looks far too new to be of any historical value. To me, it is an eyesore, a clumsy attempt of the seller to hide the damage to the handle.
I would not hesitate to remove it.

It may have been the seller or a previous owner who put on the velvet covering. I don't think it was originally meant as part of the hilt. If the grip underneath was intact then I might think it was added for additional comfort when handling it rather than just to hide damage. As I have said earlier I don't have the time and means to have the hilt restored if I decide to remove the velvet cover. And anyway this sword is not a presentation or prestige piece that would greatly benefit from a restoration IMHO but a battle and probable provincial example that has seen extensive use (as suggested by the worn edge of the blade due to multiple sharpening and the damaged hilt). And if that is the case, I wouldn't want to alter the swords history in anyway. But I agree with you that it is not aesthetically pleasing.

[Aslan Paladin]

Victrix, the only Turkish pommeled sword in the pictured grouping that has what could pass for a hole on the pommel to accommodate a wrist cord is the one on the left side and it doesn't have a metal tube through it or a washer around it like in classic Turkish swords. I got it from Artzi of Oriental Arms some time ago and he referred to it as a Bedouin Ottoman saber or a Turkish style hilted sword with a European blade from the Bedouins of Israel, Palestine and the Sinai peninsula. Some Turkish-hilted sabers from the Eastern provinces of the Ottoman Empire like the Levant that I have seen do not have a hole for a wrist cord. So I would say at least the hilts of the three swords I have probably came from the eastern provinces or areas of influence of the Ottoman Empire.