New/Modern Uzbek Pchak

kwiatek · 11th February 2020, 10:18 AM

The inscription, judging by the mistakes and the hand, was done somewhere where the Arabic/Persian/Urdu alphabet is not in use anymore. I would not have thought it was done in India or Pakistan, where they would know how to spell names correctly and where they would not have used this kind of hand. The inscription could have been added later, of course. My guess is that it's supposed to read

((قسم وستا [کذا] (قاسم/قسیم استا(د

'Qasim Usta'

'Usta' is short for 'Ustad', meaning 'Master'

ALEX · 11th February 2020, 10:31 AM

Thank You, Kwiatek
This confirms the scabbard was made in Uzbekistan, as I was told it was made by a local Uzbek master, who's not native Arabic speaker of course.

The knife was also made by the same person or workshop, but not sure if they forge the blades locally or get them from India/Pakistan.

Ren Ren · 11th February 2020, 10:50 AM

You are absolutely right, Kwiatek! In the former Soviet Central Asia, Arabic graphics remained only in religious life. "Usta" (sounds like "usto") is a respectful appeal to the master knifemaker (in Uzbek "pichoqchi").

11th February 2020, 10:18 AM	#1
kwiatek Member Join Date: May 2019 Posts: 153	The inscription, judging by the mistakes and the hand, was done somewhere where the Arabic/Persian/Urdu alphabet is not in use anymore. I would not have thought it was done in India or Pakistan, where they would know how to spell names correctly and where they would not have used this kind of hand. The inscription could have been added later, of course. My guess is that it's supposed to read ((قسم وستا [کذا] (قاسم/قسیم استا(د 'Qasim Usta' 'Usta' is short for 'Ustad', meaning 'Master'

11th February 2020, 10:31 AM	#2
ALEX Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 936	Thank You, Kwiatek This confirms the scabbard was made in Uzbekistan, as I was told it was made by a local Uzbek master, who's not native Arabic speaker of course. The knife was also made by the same person or workshop, but not sure if they forge the blades locally or get them from India/Pakistan.

11th February 2020, 10:50 AM	#3
Ren Ren Member Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Russia, Moscow Posts: 365	You are absolutely right, Kwiatek! In the former Soviet Central Asia, Arabic graphics remained only in religious life. "Usta" (sounds like "usto") is a respectful appeal to the master knifemaker (in Uzbek "pichoqchi").