Any thoughts on the identity of this one please?

Rareis · 13th June 2023, 10:50 AM

Hello fellow blade enthusiasts

!

I have had this tulwar for some time now and it would be interesting to know more about it. So I'd appreciate any thoughts about it (including the inscription on the spine of the blade)

Thank You in adavance!

Nihl · 17th June 2023, 06:05 PM

Hi Rareis. Your tulwar is actually of a pretty rare type, dating to around the late 17th century, at least for the hilt alone. The blade is a bit more ambiguous, however given how worn it is a maybe 18th century-ish date would be best.

To give a bit more detail about the hilt, it was likely made in (what is now) northern Karnataka, around Bijapur (Vijayapura) or one of the production centers near it. This area was known for producing mostly katars and basket hilts with extensive piercing in the same style as your tulwar, and indeed it seems like, while rare, they produced some tulwar hilts in this style, as shown by your example.

The inscription on the spine is likely a persian-based language like Urdu or Dakhini, the predecessor to Urdu. Or, indeed it could actually be a Farsi (persian) inscription. Either way, I am unfortunately unable to read this script, so I cannot tell you more about it than that. Worth noting that it seems like the inscription is surrounded on either side by decorations, so based on how short it is the inscription likely gives a person's name, a place where the blade was produced, or a short religious saying.

Rareis · 18th June 2023, 10:01 AM

Thank You Nihl very much for your expertise. It gives whole other perspective to my sword. I really appreciate the forum and the people that know their blades

PS: I was already starting to think that my thread will be unaswered.

With best wishes
Rainer Reis

Ian · 19th June 2023, 03:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rareis

... I was already starting to think that my thread will be unanswered. ...

Rarely do we have a thread go unanswered, Rareis. Sometimes it just takes a short time for a reply from the person with the right answer or a helpful suggestion. There is indeed considerable expertise on this Forum.

10thRoyal · 19th June 2023, 03:53 AM

So I did take a crack at the inscription. I'm not a native speaker or anything but enjoy translating anyway. The inscription looks like عمرپيند بن خونشا to me though I'm not super certain, this was just my best guess. The translation would be pretty similar in most Persian influenced languages it seems. My best guess at a translations is something like "Omarbind (or Umarbind?) ibn Kunsha". So a name then? Once again this is not my area but is my best guess. I hope it is not super far off.

Rareis · 20th June 2023, 03:32 PM

Thank you gentlemen once again for your input. I'm determined now to bring some speciments of my humble collection to be commented by experts and enrich my knowledgebase on them.

Best regards
Rainer

13th June 2023, 10:50 AM	#1
Rareis Member Join Date: Aug 2020 Posts: 6	Any thoughts on the identity of this one please? Hello fellow blade enthusiasts! I have had this tulwar for some time now and it would be interesting to know more about it. So I'd appreciate any thoughts about it (including the inscription on the spine of the blade) Thank You in adavance! Attached Images

19th June 2023, 03:53 AM	#5
10thRoyal Member Join Date: Apr 2021 Posts: 78	So I did take a crack at the inscription. I'm not a native speaker or anything but enjoy translating anyway. The inscription looks like عمرپيند بن خونشا to me though I'm not super certain, this was just my best guess. The translation would be pretty similar in most Persian influenced languages it seems. My best guess at a translations is something like "Omarbind (or Umarbind?) ibn Kunsha". So a name then? Once again this is not my area but is my best guess. I hope it is not super far off. Last edited by 10thRoyal; 19th June 2023 at 04:13 AM.

17th June 2023, 06:05 PM	#2
Nihl Member Join Date: Feb 2018 Posts: 90	Hi Rareis. Your tulwar is actually of a pretty rare type, dating to around the late 17th century, at least for the hilt alone. The blade is a bit more ambiguous, however given how worn it is a maybe 18th century-ish date would be best. To give a bit more detail about the hilt, it was likely made in (what is now) northern Karnataka, around Bijapur (Vijayapura) or one of the production centers near it. This area was known for producing mostly katars and basket hilts with extensive piercing in the same style as your tulwar, and indeed it seems like, while rare, they produced some tulwar hilts in this style, as shown by your example. The inscription on the spine is likely a persian-based language like Urdu or Dakhini, the predecessor to Urdu. Or, indeed it could actually be a Farsi (persian) inscription. Either way, I am unfortunately unable to read this script, so I cannot tell you more about it than that. Worth noting that it seems like the inscription is surrounded on either side by decorations, so based on how short it is the inscription likely gives a person's name, a place where the blade was produced, or a short religious saying.

18th June 2023, 10:01 AM	#3
Rareis Member Join Date: Aug 2020 Posts: 6	Thank You Nihl very much for your expertise. It gives whole other perspective to my sword. I really appreciate the forum and the people that know their blades PS: I was already starting to think that my thread will be unaswered. With best wishes Rainer Reis

20th June 2023, 03:32 PM	#6
Rareis Member Join Date: Aug 2020 Posts: 6	Thank you gentlemen once again for your input. I'm determined now to bring some speciments of my humble collection to be commented by experts and enrich my knowledgebase on them. Best regards Rainer