Items from my collection

[FenrisWolf]

Originally Posted by FenrisWolf

No comments on the puloar which kind of disappointed me; maybe I'll have better luck getting some response on this item:

Just won it on ebay, first of these I've seen attributed to Afghanistan. The decoration is far cruder than the elaborately ingraved versions we see out of India proper, but I think I prefer the cruder version.

Still no comments from anyone?

The shield arrived today and once again provided evidence of the thrifty nature of Afghan smiths. The basis of this rough but nicely domed shield was the end of a steel drum; I'll post better pics later, but if you look directly below the lower right-hand boss on the shield's face you can make out the letters "TH", part of a much larger stamped inscription that the armorer flattend but did not completely obscure. From the underside of the shield at that point I believe that the lettering surrounded the drum's spout which has been expertly patched prior to putting the boss in place. I think that's also why the spacin of the bosses is wider than usual for one of these, the smith was trying to make it symmetrical with the patch.

I'm going to leave this alone as much as possible, just give it a good coating gun conditioning oil to preserve the patina. I'm going to add a new strap to the back for hanging purposes, but that's it.