Tulwar, Talwar ID help please.

Jim McDougall · 7th May 2021, 08:02 PM

I am with Nihl on this, and this is pretty much the well known styling on many tulwar hilts from Rajasthan, as noted the Rajputs are known to have had these sharply defined bulge in center grip.
The EIC device is post 1857 after the dissolution of the East India Company proper into the Indian government with Queen Victoria emplaced as the Empress of India . Eventually the acronym became EIG (East India government), but I think this blade is probably 1800s+ as is the hilt.
These tulwars were produced for use not only in many of the native cavalry units during the Raj, but private British sponsored enterprises had their own security forces.

It is pretty much futile to geographically or regionally assess or classify tulwar hilts (despite the valiant efforts of G.N.Pant, 1980) unless there is distinct decorative motif. There were many locations in Rajasthan where hilts were produced and exported throughout the princely states to be mounted and decorated etc. Tulwars were not particularly favored in the south though the Deccan saw considerable presence with Mughals using them.

From Kutch, Gujerat, Rajasthan, Sind, Baluchistan, Punjab, Delhi, the Northwest regions into what is now Afghanistan......tulwar country.
The British Raj in India, fascinating history!

This tulwar is a great example of that history in the weapons used.

7th May 2021, 08:02 PM	#3
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,281	I am with Nihl on this, and this is pretty much the well known styling on many tulwar hilts from Rajasthan, as noted the Rajputs are known to have had these sharply defined bulge in center grip. The EIC device is post 1857 after the dissolution of the East India Company proper into the Indian government with Queen Victoria emplaced as the Empress of India . Eventually the acronym became EIG (East India government), but I think this blade is probably 1800s+ as is the hilt. These tulwars were produced for use not only in many of the native cavalry units during the Raj, but private British sponsored enterprises had their own security forces. It is pretty much futile to geographically or regionally assess or classify tulwar hilts (despite the valiant efforts of G.N.Pant, 1980) unless there is distinct decorative motif. There were many locations in Rajasthan where hilts were produced and exported throughout the princely states to be mounted and decorated etc. Tulwars were not particularly favored in the south though the Deccan saw considerable presence with Mughals using them. From Kutch, Gujerat, Rajasthan, Sind, Baluchistan, Punjab, Delhi, the Northwest regions into what is now Afghanistan......tulwar country. The British Raj in India, fascinating history! This tulwar is a great example of that history in the weapons used.