Another Tulwar

[Jim McDougall]

Thank you for the input Matt. Actually Im glad you brought up the last tulwar you posted, which I responded to in some depth, and I wondered if the information was useful.
As you can see there is notable difference the hilt of this example, the typical curvature of most of these tulwar blades is similar. What is key in this case is the hilt, and particularly those flueret quillons. These are typically associated with Deccani weapons, however there were profound connections between those Sultanates and Mughal regions to the north, northwest. In this case the style hilt and the central floral device in the chowk suggests areas toward Afghanistan borders but probably from areas in Sind and Baluchistan. This may be of the type used by the Talpurs in Sind, and I think 19th century early to mid. There seems to be black from japanning on the hilt which seems unusual, but the dark patina under and on the blade seem to reflect genuine age.
It is of course quite subjective in trying to assess regions and period in tulwars, and estimations are based mostly on similar examples with some provenance when available. The tulwar itself was widely diffused and in a historically volatile and diverse climate through many centuries.

Jim