help me to identify this sword

[Ian]

Hi Richard,

Thanks for posting pictures of this sword. This is an Indian sword, one of a group of swords that are generally referred to as tulwar. The style of your blade derives from the Ottoman kilij, a curved saber with a swollen end called a yelman. Usually the yelman is sharpened on the back edge.

You will find many swords on this site if you search for "tulwar." Age is hard to say from the pictures, and perhaps the inscriptions will help pin it down. Many of these swords date from the 19th C, but 18th C might also be possible. The punched marks are fairly common on these swords and may indicate the particular armory where it was made.

Hopefully, our Indian arms experts can give you a better reading of this one and a translation of the markings.


Regards, Ian.

[richardshelton]

Hi Ian,

Thank you so much for your detailed response and for identifying the sword as a tulwar. I really appreciate the insight regarding the blade’s style being influenced by the Ottoman kilij, especially the mention of the yelman — that helps me understand the design much better.

I’ll definitely search the forum for other tulwars to compare and learn more. Hopefully, the inscriptions can provide more clues about its origin or date. I wasn’t aware that the punched marks might point to a specific armory — that’s a fascinating detail I’ll look into further.

I also wanted to mention that the hilt appears to have a pure silver plating, which might be relevant in terms of quality, status, or origin. If that provides any additional clues, I’d love to hear thoughts on that as well.

Looking forward to hearing from others too, especially those with expertise in Indian arms. I’ll try to upload clearer images of the inscriptions soon to help with translation.

Thanks again for your help!

[Jim McDougall]

Richard,
You seem to have acquired a tulwar with significant inherent history!
This is likely a Rajput tulwar from NW India, Rajasthan, and these punch dot markings are from the BIKANER arsenal in that state. This is a kind of shorthand for the DEVANAGARI script which evolved in Gujerat in the 16th c.

The expanded distal end of the blade is called the 'yelman' and this feature was used on Turkic blades in the early evolution of the saber, and prevailed on the swords which became familiar as the Ottoman kilij/pala.
In India, the Turkic traditions kept this feature on blades through the 18th century.

The script on the spine of the blade would be I presume devanagari, though it is always tempting to think it might be gurmukhi, the script used by Sikhs, more research needed.

In cleaning...RESTRAINT!! plzzzzz!
use light oil WD40 with the finest steel wool only. This is a historic item, and need conservation rather than restoration. Patina is incarnate history and ots character is important.

[Jim McDougall]

Wanted to add an example of another Rajput tulwar of 18th c, more munitions grade and virtually munitions grade. However note the yelman.

The Rajputs often were allied with Mughals, and Anup Singh was ruler of the state of Bikaner from 1669 appointed by Mughal ruler Aurengzeb. Bikaner is located in the Thar desert and the armory situated in Junagarh fort.

As noted the punch dot characters used at Bikaner are a kind of shorthand version of Gujerati script.

The Rajputs were notably the most powerful warriors in India, and the dynamics of their history is extensive.

It seems that weapons held in Bikaner are typically clean, well preserved. However in the 19th century many entered circulation with collectors, and of these likely many ended up in less than optimum conditions which might account for the active rust etc. on this example. Many of the armories of the princely states were broken up during the 1860s onward, and many of the weapons became souvenirs or the better ones into collections, while tons were scrapped. It seems Bikaner remained largely intact . As far as found, and Jens Nordlund studied this extensively, the Bikaner marks are the only definitive armory markings identified.