Hi Brian,
Thanks very much, I was hoping you would be posting on this. Perhaps you aren't presenting conclusions, but your observations are as always, extremely well placed. You are right in that Rawson's work was outstanding for what it was, primarily a typography with emphasis on blade forms.
I agree with your notes on the Mahrattas, who were essentially confederations of tribes and as in such cases were not sedentary and adopted material culture of regions where they located. The Indian subcontinent is a complex patchwork of ethnic groups, languages, religions and as such it takes considerable tenacity to pursue the diffusion and cross influences of these with understanding.
Thank you for posting the art, these present excellent benchmarks to support hilt form development on the baskethilt.
All the best,
Jim
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