Ibrahiim thank you for your astute assessment on the script! which seems to further support the observations of Martin, Teodor and Antique Arms regarding Afghan provenance as well as the Ottoman influence in the mounts.
Ariel your knowledge on these weapons, in particular of course shashkas and Central Asian swords is remarkable, as evidenced by the incredibly detailed material you have posted while not even near your references!
As Antique Arms has noted, there are some basic similarities in blade features in the Chinese weapons illustrated in the articles by Philip Tom, however these indicate later influence from apparently 'Near Eastern' and perhaps 'qalachuri' blades with segmented fuller panels
I am unclear on these influences appearing in the Chinese blades in the 19th century but I think the possible scenarios for the confluence of Afghan and Georgian features in the sword overall as earlier suggested by Teodor and masterfully described further by Ariel give us an excellent 'forensic' analysis of this sword .
Gentlemen this is exactly the kind of discussion and exchange of observations I always hope for on these pages! and I cannot thank you all enough for your valuable participation. Sharing this kind of data enables us all to learn from the stuff which is often not in the books, and from experience. Outstanding!
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