Mughal Kard?

[Jim McDougall]

Hello Battara,
I would consider this a Mughal kard, although it does seem quite elongated. I think what Jens has said concerning the floral motif is right on target, and some very focused evaluation will be necessary as this subject in these weapons is quite important.
As Dr. Robert Elgood has noted in his outstanding new book "Hindu Arms & Ritual" (p.129), "...it follows that a plant depicted on a weapon is likely to represent more than its decorative value".
While this of course focuses on Hindu weapons, it should be remembered that the iconography on Indian weapons often was duplicated on both Mughal and Hindu weapons indiscriminantly. In his book, Dr. Elgood brilliantly describes symbolic meanings of flowers in this iconography and how certain flowers were even used to identify opposing armies in days before uniforms. To the best of my knowledge, his approach and perspective in the subjective study of these weapons is seminal, and distinctly notes the way ethnographic weapons should be studied. Until now, virtually all references that have described the weapons of India have focused on the western application of study that is primarily typology and categoric description.

It must be remembered as well in the study of Indian weapons that such floral motifs were often widely copied by subsequent artisans, and in many cases such imitation was not necessarily faithfully duplicated. Thus without awareness of such symbolic importance, the renderings often became highly stylized and degenerated. In many cases the number of flower petals, typically key symbolically, were altered, and the meaning was lost. In many cases this degenerated motif is a determining factor in estimating authentiity and age of certain weapons.

Best regards,
Jim