Ancient, armed Indian from Kabul

Andrew · 20th May 2005, 02:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Radu Transylvanicus

I believe this is just another one geo-historical error sprunged from the classical semi-docent thinking of Eurocolonial-Victorian views of the "fascinating Orient" , this is not a fashion victim, it is a victim of geographical misplacement ; we discussed similar in few other past threads like the paintings of Dutch masters and Indonesian weaponry like keris and tombak to give one example ...

I agree completely, Radu. The perspective of the "Orientalist" artists can be as frustrating as it is edifying.

Mark · 20th May 2005, 02:23 PM

No doubt a dha. The only reason that I can think of to explain this warrior carrying a dha is that it was acquired during the frequent conflicts between the Moguls and Burma and/or Arrakan in the Bengal and Bihar regions.

It is probably more likely, however, that the artist had a barrel of "oriental" swords in his studio to use as models, and he picked the wrong one. One I remember from art history class is David's "Oath of the Horatii" (1784), a semi-mythical event in Roman history. Detail below:

20th May 2005, 02:23 PM	#2
Mark Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 987	No doubt a dha. The only reason that I can think of to explain this warrior carrying a dha is that it was acquired during the frequent conflicts between the Moguls and Burma and/or Arrakan in the Bengal and Bihar regions. It is probably more likely, however, that the artist had a barrel of "oriental" swords in his studio to use as models, and he picked the wrong one. One I remember from art history class is David's "Oath of the Horatii" (1784), a semi-mythical event in Roman history. Detail below: Attached Images Last edited by Mark Bowditch; 20th May 2005 at 02:34 PM.