The flowers on the tulwar hilts

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by Jens Nordlunde

Yes Jim, there are different way to go if you really want to study the Indian arms, textiles is one of them, which should be added to the others.

Well there you have it !! yet another avenue for researching these weapons. Too many collectors think that in order to study Indian arms (or any ethnographic forms for that matter) the answers will be in neatly categorized chapters with each type pictured and classified and that the decoration is from such and such place etc.
It is in a broad study of material culture, art and crafts, religion, traditions, coins, textiles etc. that the real answers are found.