Any thoughts on the identity of this one please?

Nihl · 17th June 2023, 05:05 PM

Hi Rareis. Your tulwar is actually of a pretty rare type, dating to around the late 17th century, at least for the hilt alone. The blade is a bit more ambiguous, however given how worn it is a maybe 18th century-ish date would be best.

To give a bit more detail about the hilt, it was likely made in (what is now) northern Karnataka, around Bijapur (Vijayapura) or one of the production centers near it. This area was known for producing mostly katars and basket hilts with extensive piercing in the same style as your tulwar, and indeed it seems like, while rare, they produced some tulwar hilts in this style, as shown by your example.

The inscription on the spine is likely a persian-based language like Urdu or Dakhini, the predecessor to Urdu. Or, indeed it could actually be a Farsi (persian) inscription. Either way, I am unfortunately unable to read this script, so I cannot tell you more about it than that. Worth noting that it seems like the inscription is surrounded on either side by decorations, so based on how short it is the inscription likely gives a person's name, a place where the blade was produced, or a short religious saying.

17th June 2023, 05:05 PM	#2
Nihl Member Join Date: Feb 2018 Posts: 87	Hi Rareis. Your tulwar is actually of a pretty rare type, dating to around the late 17th century, at least for the hilt alone. The blade is a bit more ambiguous, however given how worn it is a maybe 18th century-ish date would be best. To give a bit more detail about the hilt, it was likely made in (what is now) northern Karnataka, around Bijapur (Vijayapura) or one of the production centers near it. This area was known for producing mostly katars and basket hilts with extensive piercing in the same style as your tulwar, and indeed it seems like, while rare, they produced some tulwar hilts in this style, as shown by your example. The inscription on the spine is likely a persian-based language like Urdu or Dakhini, the predecessor to Urdu. Or, indeed it could actually be a Farsi (persian) inscription. Either way, I am unfortunately unable to read this script, so I cannot tell you more about it than that. Worth noting that it seems like the inscription is surrounded on either side by decorations, so based on how short it is the inscription likely gives a person's name, a place where the blade was produced, or a short religious saying.