Persian or Ottoman Lance ?

[ariel]

Originally Posted by DavidFriedman

Hi, thanks Ariel.

The lance in the picture looks very similar in form to a Persian Qajar lance I used to own. Thinner blade and less diamondesque in cross section profile than this current one I have. The Qajar ones I find have the thin blades, reinforced edge, and smaller ball section between collar and blade.

My one has a solid ball that could act as a small mace it’s so hefty, even though small.

It could well be Mughal, but the one in the picture you show, I am convinced is a Qajar lance, possibly used by Sufi’s, or at least I saw an old photo of a Sufi carrying a similar styled one in your picture.

If I’m wrong, I’m definitely open to correction. Thanks.

Cheers,

David

David,
By the 17-18 centuries Mughal armourers produced items identical in quality to the Persian ones. Moreover, there was a strong Sufi minority among the Mughal court and intellectuals. Thus the quality of the execution and religious bents cannot help very much.
I found the old Artzi's site and here are several examples of N. Indian lances from his archives + the Met example. As you see, there are major differences between all of them due to different workshops/masters.
You now have 3 opinions: Mahratt's ( Persia" and Artzi's/Met's ( N. India).
You can choose either. That's the frequent name of the game in our hobby:-)