Matchlock gun of Afghanistan?

rickystl · 3rd September 2018, 05:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mahratt

Hello All

Thank you for the interesting discussion.

Dima

P.S. Rick, by the way, I'm sure that you know that the Afghans did not always use bipods when firing from traditional guns:

Hi Mahratt

Thank you once again for the great photo !!! I don't have this one either. Great pic. Thank you.
A bit off the subject here: Viewing these original photos and illistrations, I can't help notice the wide spread use of the tulwar sword. My knowledge of blades is very limited. But it seems that the tulwar must have been one of the most popular swords ever used. (?) I see them everywhere. LOL

Rick

mahratt · 3rd September 2018, 07:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rickystl

Hi Mahratt

Thank you once again for the great photo !!! I don't have this one either. Great pic. Thank you.
A bit off the subject here: Viewing these original photos and illistrations, I can't help notice the wide spread use of the tulwar sword. My knowledge of blades is very limited. But it seems that the tulwar must have been one of the most popular swords ever used. (?) I see them everywhere. LOL

Rick

Hello Rick!

I'm glad that you liked the photo.
You're absolutely right. Many believe that the Afghans used the Pulowars. And it is true. But the Tulwars were also widely distributed. By the way, in Afghanistan , used, and Tulwars made by local craftsmen, and Tulwars from India.

Dima

Quote:

Originally Posted by Likhari

Gentlemen !

The inscription reads :

Raja Jaipur - Tahsil Baswa - Number 187.

Baswa was an administrative subdivision(Tahsil) in the Dausa Nizamat which was a part of Jaipur State in Rajputana, India. It is currently located in the State of Rajasthan in the NorthWest of India.

Hope this helps.

Thank you! It is very interesting

Dima

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.

3rd September 2018, 11:19 PM	#3
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.