Please authenticate this

[Stan S.]

I am having a debate with a collector friend over this axe. He claims it to be a typical Qajar period Indo Persian. To me it looks like a not-so-modern repro. It is just too crude overall to be a real thing. Note the top spike - it is just a part of the hollow haft flattened to resemble a spike! I also think I am seeing some welding seams where axe head/blade meets the socket However, I sometimes see identical axes offered for sale and wonder if perhaps due to being stubborn I am cheating myself out of aquiring one for my collection. Am I wrong? Is this a genuine period item?

Sorry for the poor quality pics. The axe does not belong to me and I did not take these pictures

[Battara]

Looks Persian, Qajar period to me. IT is crude and could very will be a repo.

[fspic]

Do a web search for scrap metal prices and you will get its true value.

I have seen some "interesting looking" pieces with a certain amount of illustrative work which were nonetheless torch cut from heavy sheet stock (kora). This doesn't always show up at first glance. A lot of real blades have cut in and silver filled work which seems rather crude but that is not unusual. It is necessary to look past that as the piece may be authentic.

I bought a shorter flat bladed saber with a Nepalese grip largely for the grip as I assumed the blade was newly made. A close examination of the spine seemed to show laminae. I checked several times and it still looked that way. Apparently it was a flat laminated blade which is a bit unusual.

[Gavin Nugent]

From the images it looks to have a piece from a late 19th/early 20th ceremonal axe but only just that at best....the rest, such as the spike if you can call it that and the T shaped hammer and the shaft all look to be modern pieces of "scrap" braized and welded on to create a "complete" axe...I use a lot of these words loosely as she ain't pretty.....

[asomotif]

When did we event electric welding techniques ?

[thinreadline]

I agree with the foregoing comments . This is a poorly cobbled together effort I am afraid . The axe head decoration is terribly crude .. even in late 19th pieces it is fine ... no real weapons maker could have made this ... it would have fallen apart if used in action and been laughed at if worn for a parade.

[ariel]

Originally Posted by Stan S.

He claims it to be a typical Qajar period Indo Persian. To me it looks like a not-so-modern repro.

Both of you are correct: it is a typical Qajar period repro:-) The two are synonymous.

Similar axes, bazu-bands, shields and swords were mass-produced in Iran during Qajar and Pahlavi dynasties. All were aimed at European naifs looking for the romantic/heroic past of a destitute country. Before oil, Iran was viciously poor and trinkets of that nature were one of the few means of putting bread on the table. Their quality is abysmal, but we still see them on e-bay, masquerading as real weapons.

[Stan S.]

Thank you all. I am glad to know my instincts were right.