by kenh on Wed Apr 03, 2013 7:24 am
Certainly could be an Asiatic-style composite bow, as they tend to revert to a circle when unstrung.
Footbow? Not bloody likely! First, footbows did not have stocks as you stated; crossbows have 'stocks', footbows have feet. Not the same thing at all.
Second footbows were really rare in the world of combat archery. Third, they're called footbows because the shooter lay on his back and put his feet either side of the handle...
Fourth, in general the eastern cultures didn't go in for such things -- they were horse archers, not foot archers or lay-on-your-back archers.
Turkish? Who knows without more detailed examination. Indian? Not so likely. Indian bows in general were not that same style of recurve. But there were hundreds, of cultures east of Vienna which made largely similar but culturally distinct versions of the composite horn bow.
Unusual, but not impossible for such a bow to show up in England. After all the Vikings who raided/settled parts of England prior to 1066 also raided/settled Kiev, Novgarod and other places in the East (but not India) where such weapons were relatively common.
If you're really interested in more info, I suggest you join ATARN (www.atarn.org) and post your photos there. That group contains many of the world's experts on Asian archery equipemt of all kinds and cultures.