Matchlock gun of Afghanistan?

ariel · 3rd September 2018, 11:19 PM

Afghani swords are interesting in their own right and serve as a reminder of a mix of site-specific and generic “ Indian” traditions, just like their guns,

Pulwars have features reminding of both S. Indian ( cup-like closed pommel) and Persian ( down-turned quillons with “ dragon heads”) features. Their blades are often very thick and narrow, some have peculiar fuller structure ( usually one or more parallel fullers by the spine interrupted with plain areas, often with a box-like element close to the handle) and a rivet in the quillon block in case of Afghani tulwars.

But, as Elgood has instructed us, swords from the Indo-Persian area need to be viewed blade and handle separately: most of them have been rehilted more than once. An amusing example of it is the fact that Indian swords in the Victoria & Albert museum, collected early in the 19th century, often have mismatched combinations locality and age-wise. But in the Wallace collection they all match perfectly, likely because after ~1870 when the collection was assembled most sumptuous swords were made in the royal workshops as gifts and souvenirs.

I have a couple of mismatched Afghani- Indian examples, but we are in the midst of a thunderstorm and it is too dark for photography.

If anybody is interested, I can do it one day upon request.

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3rd September 2018, 11:19 PM	#29
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	Afghani swords are interesting in their own right and serve as a reminder of a mix of site-specific and generic “ Indian” traditions, just like their guns, Pulwars have features reminding of both S. Indian ( cup-like closed pommel) and Persian ( down-turned quillons with “ dragon heads”) features. Their blades are often very thick and narrow, some have peculiar fuller structure ( usually one or more parallel fullers by the spine interrupted with plain areas, often with a box-like element close to the handle) and a rivet in the quillon block in case of Afghani tulwars. But, as Elgood has instructed us, swords from the Indo-Persian area need to be viewed blade and handle separately: most of them have been rehilted more than once. An amusing example of it is the fact that Indian swords in the Victoria & Albert museum, collected early in the 19th century, often have mismatched combinations locality and age-wise. But in the Wallace collection they all match perfectly, likely because after ~1870 when the collection was assembled most sumptuous swords were made in the royal workshops as gifts and souvenirs. I have a couple of mismatched Afghani- Indian examples, but we are in the midst of a thunderstorm and it is too dark for photography. If anybody is interested, I can do it one day upon request.