Tulwar stamped blade mark question

Rumpel · 18th May 2016, 03:41 AM

I suppose the thing is that- unlike kaskaras, say, where a bring-back date is often going to be very late 19th c- for UK collectors tulwars could have come from almost anywhere in N India, at almost any time, with very little info to help us sort out the fine details.

I assume most old tulwars in western collections have radiated out from the UK, of course.

Jim McDougall · 18th May 2016, 06:48 AM

That would be a most plausible assumption as during British colonial presence and the Raj covering well over a century and a half, there were huge numbers of souveniers brought into Great Britain and throughout the Commonweath.
There were the largest dispersals at the clearing of many of the arsenals in many of the princely states in the latter 19th century, but hard to say just what period or circumstances brought the most of these into general circulation.

The thing with Indian arms is that after Egerton, and in minor degree certain other established collections in museums, they were not widely collected by general public nor particularly studied as with European arms and armor .

It was not really until Rawson (1967) that the field began to attract specific attention by private arms collectors, but that remained restrained in degree by the lack of resources and information, beyond the venerable work of Stone (1934). Thankfully in the years since Rawson, authors like G.N.Pant; Jaiwent Paul; Robert Elgood and others including researchers like our own Jens Nordlund, have added great dimension to the corpus of knowledge we have on these arms.

As always, the research never stops, so thank you for joining the quest!!

mrcjgscott · 24th May 2016, 12:45 PM

By happy chance I was going to post up my new tulwar (my second) when I saw this thread resurface.

Like the subject of Matt's query, my latest addition also carries the cross marks to the blade.

I assumed that they were pseudo-European markings, placed as a mark of quality.

Having hunted around, I cannot seem to see a specific term for a tulwar hilt without guard, is there such a term?

My first Tulwar posting on this board led to some very interesting discussion, I hope this one will also help me to learn more.

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=20246

Kind regards,

Chris

CharlesS · 24th May 2016, 02:59 PM

Great info here guys. Those charts will be most helpful for many collectors.

Thanks for your efforts.

24th May 2016, 12:45 PM	#3
mrcjgscott Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Posts: 189	Serendipitous By happy chance I was going to post up my new tulwar (my second) when I saw this thread resurface. Like the subject of Matt's query, my latest addition also carries the cross marks to the blade. I assumed that they were pseudo-European markings, placed as a mark of quality. Having hunted around, I cannot seem to see a specific term for a tulwar hilt without guard, is there such a term? My first Tulwar posting on this board led to some very interesting discussion, I hope this one will also help me to learn more. http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=20246 Kind regards, Chris Attached Images

18th May 2016, 03:41 AM	#1
Rumpel Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 63	I suppose the thing is that- unlike kaskaras, say, where a bring-back date is often going to be very late 19th c- for UK collectors tulwars could have come from almost anywhere in N India, at almost any time, with very little info to help us sort out the fine details. I assume most old tulwars in western collections have radiated out from the UK, of course.

18th May 2016, 06:48 AM	#2
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,281	That would be a most plausible assumption as during British colonial presence and the Raj covering well over a century and a half, there were huge numbers of souveniers brought into Great Britain and throughout the Commonweath. There were the largest dispersals at the clearing of many of the arsenals in many of the princely states in the latter 19th century, but hard to say just what period or circumstances brought the most of these into general circulation. The thing with Indian arms is that after Egerton, and in minor degree certain other established collections in museums, they were not widely collected by general public nor particularly studied as with European arms and armor . It was not really until Rawson (1967) that the field began to attract specific attention by private arms collectors, but that remained restrained in degree by the lack of resources and information, beyond the venerable work of Stone (1934). Thankfully in the years since Rawson, authors like G.N.Pant; Jaiwent Paul; Robert Elgood and others including researchers like our own Jens Nordlund, have added great dimension to the corpus of knowledge we have on these arms. As always, the research never stops, so thank you for joining the quest!!

24th May 2016, 02:59 PM	#4
CharlesS Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Greenville, NC Posts: 1,854	Great info here guys. Those charts will be most helpful for many collectors. Thanks for your efforts.