Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post - A mysterious Transylvanian sword : a Sino-Japanese influence possible ?

Ian · 1st May 2005, 06:05 AM

I've been watching this thread and doing some reading of old materials, including the excellent threads by Dan Wilke which Andrew has referenced.

IMHO this lovely sword is a European's synthesis of what an oriental style sword would be. The disk guard is a composite of Japanese and Chinese styles, with decorations that have a strong SE Asian flavor (as evidenced by the materials that Andrew has linked). The handle also seems a composite, being closer to Chinese than Japanese in form and perhaps artistic design. The "habaki" has a purely Japanese heritage, AFAIK.

With such a profusion of Oriental influences, this strikes me as one man's impression of what an oriental sword of distinction might look like. There is no need to suspect the sword maker ever saw a real Japanese sword, much less handled one. He would only need some basic descriptions, and perhaps a few line drawings or decorations on ceramics to guide the art style, and the rest could be left to the creativity of the designer and fabricator of the sword.

That this is work of the highest quality for its time is not disputed. But I'm going to agree with Rick and say that this is entirely a European creation. I don't think we need to see any more of this sword to reasonably reach that conclusion. The man who signed his name to this sword was a master craftsman, and the sword is testimony to his genius.

[BTW, as an aside, the top sword shown by Andrew in the post immediately above has an inscription on the blade written in Thai but the gold collar around the blade that resembles an habaki is signed in Burmese script. It is Thai sword, but seems to have been made by a Burmese. Given the level of animosity between the Thai and Burmish at that time, the use of Burmese crafstmen to create a sword of this quality and distinction seems unusual.]

1st May 2005, 06:05 AM	#26
Ian Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: The Aussie Bush Posts: 4,039	I've been watching this thread and doing some reading of old materials, including the excellent threads by Dan Wilke which Andrew has referenced. IMHO this lovely sword is a European's synthesis of what an oriental style sword would be. The disk guard is a composite of Japanese and Chinese styles, with decorations that have a strong SE Asian flavor (as evidenced by the materials that Andrew has linked). The handle also seems a composite, being closer to Chinese than Japanese in form and perhaps artistic design. The "habaki" has a purely Japanese heritage, AFAIK. With such a profusion of Oriental influences, this strikes me as one man's impression of what an oriental sword of distinction might look like. There is no need to suspect the sword maker ever saw a real Japanese sword, much less handled one. He would only need some basic descriptions, and perhaps a few line drawings or decorations on ceramics to guide the art style, and the rest could be left to the creativity of the designer and fabricator of the sword. That this is work of the highest quality for its time is not disputed. But I'm going to agree with Rick and say that this is entirely a European creation. I don't think we need to see any more of this sword to reasonably reach that conclusion. The man who signed his name to this sword was a master craftsman, and the sword is testimony to his genius. [BTW, as an aside, the top sword shown by Andrew in the post immediately above has an inscription on the blade written in Thai but the gold collar around the blade that resembles an habaki is signed in Burmese script. It is Thai sword, but seems to have been made by a Burmese. Given the level of animosity between the Thai and Burmish at that time, the use of Burmese crafstmen to create a sword of this quality and distinction seems unusual.]