European Maker's Marks on an Indian Firanghi

vilhelmsson · 25th October 2019, 06:48 PM

Thank you.

And I'm not sure. Many things are within the realm of possibility!

The sword was likely commissioned during Aurangzeb's reign. At least one of Aurangzeb’s swords was stamped Andrea Ferara and most, if not all had European blades (one was likely sold yesterday at Christie's; they haven't posted results yet). If the person who commissioned my sword was a clever courtier, they probably would have wanted a European blade or at least something that looked very European.

The blade could be wholly non-European or the marks could be from a local smith engraving European looking marks into a European blade. Or the marks could be a combination of European and other engraving. Or just random embellishment by a clever Portuguese trader before shipping it to India.

None of the above possibilities cause me to value it less. I just want to learn more about it.

It is that backwards 'y' that causes me to wonder. Or maybe it's a 'V' stamped on top of an 'O'? There's also the "CW" or "CVV" which is an odd combination in many languages.

25th October 2019, 06:48 PM	#3
vilhelmsson Member Join Date: Feb 2019 Location: Bay Area Posts: 57	Thank you. And I'm not sure. Many things are within the realm of possibility! The sword was likely commissioned during Aurangzeb's reign. At least one of Aurangzeb’s swords was stamped Andrea Ferara and most, if not all had European blades (one was likely sold yesterday at Christie's; they haven't posted results yet). If the person who commissioned my sword was a clever courtier, they probably would have wanted a European blade or at least something that looked very European. The blade could be wholly non-European or the marks could be from a local smith engraving European looking marks into a European blade. Or the marks could be a combination of European and other engraving. Or just random embellishment by a clever Portuguese trader before shipping it to India. None of the above possibilities cause me to value it less. I just want to learn more about it. It is that backwards 'y' that causes me to wonder. Or maybe it's a 'V' stamped on top of an 'O'? There's also the "CW" or "CVV" which is an odd combination in many languages.