Afghani pulwar: old and ( perhaps) revealing

ariel · 23rd December 2019, 06:45 PM

This is an Afghani pulwar, with a typical Afghani blade : false edge, narrow profile and very thick spine, thin fullers interrupted by flat planes and indentations filled with yellow and red lac. I suspect it is wootz because of a long " seam" or "crack" at the spine, but could not reveal it with lime juice or ferrous sulfate.

But my real question is about its handle: crudely-cast brass with very deep cup-like pommel and a baluster going all the way up from the bottom and having a lanyard hole. At first blush I thought that it was a traditional Afghani pommel with a lid lost, but the lanyard hole looked to be located quite low, below the presumed lid. I placed a very thin piece of metal next to it and indeed, at least a third of the hole was below the level of the presumed lid.
The rivet through the guard is distinctive though one can see this construction in Jodhpur in the 19th century examples and in the south even earlier (See Elgood's " Rajput Arms", vol. 1, p.22): the "adoption" of that feature went from South to North. Old brass shows that Afghanis used this material well before 20th century.

Thus, my cautious conclusion that this pommel had never had a lid, it was open, just like the pommels in Hamzanameh, the Brian's tulwar similar to piso podang or Jens' tulwar on pp. 350-3 in his book. If so, this might be an early pulwar handle, 17-18 cen. at the latest. Apparently, the owner thought it quite valuable for some reasons: one langet was broken and carefully shortened and reformed. The blade is likely newer than the hilt. Pics are attached

Your thoughts?

23rd December 2019, 06:45 PM	#1
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	Afghani pulwar: old and ( perhaps) revealing This is an Afghani pulwar, with a typical Afghani blade : false edge, narrow profile and very thick spine, thin fullers interrupted by flat planes and indentations filled with yellow and red lac. I suspect it is wootz because of a long " seam" or "crack" at the spine, but could not reveal it with lime juice or ferrous sulfate. But my real question is about its handle: crudely-cast brass with very deep cup-like pommel and a baluster going all the way up from the bottom and having a lanyard hole. At first blush I thought that it was a traditional Afghani pommel with a lid lost, but the lanyard hole looked to be located quite low, below the presumed lid. I placed a very thin piece of metal next to it and indeed, at least a third of the hole was below the level of the presumed lid. The rivet through the guard is distinctive though one can see this construction in Jodhpur in the 19th century examples and in the south even earlier (See Elgood's " Rajput Arms", vol. 1, p.22): the "adoption" of that feature went from South to North. Old brass shows that Afghanis used this material well before 20th century. Thus, my cautious conclusion that this pommel had never had a lid, it was open, just like the pommels in Hamzanameh, the Brian's tulwar similar to piso podang or Jens' tulwar on pp. 350-3 in his book. If so, this might be an early pulwar handle, 17-18 cen. at the latest. Apparently, the owner thought it quite valuable for some reasons: one langet was broken and carefully shortened and reformed. The blade is likely newer than the hilt. Pics are attached Your thoughts? Attached Images