Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

RSWORD · 22nd July 2016, 02:36 AM

Hi Miguel,

Thanks for sharing your examples. They are all of the period you suspect which is 19th to turn of the century. The short jian are civilian swords and of the form that was most heavily brought back by soldiers of other countries of various campaigns. I have seen an example deposited in a museum that was gifted in the early 19th century but most date to the second half of the 19th to early part of the 20th century. The quality of these vary greatly. Both in the fittings to the blades. Over the years I have seen blades that might work well as a paper opener to well forged laminated blades. I have also run across older blades mounted in these fittings. The last example you show seems to have a well forged laminated blade. You can see the Hamon along the edge and the body of the blade shows some lamination. The middle example has an unusual blade but seems to show some evidence of a Hamon and lamination. The first example posted doesn't exhibit a Hamon or laminations from what can be seen in the pictures. Closer examination might tell a different story.

The dao is late 19th to early 20th century and seems to be village quality. The fullers on the blade are very uneven and sloppy and the blade looks lumpy like it hasn't been ground properly. You find lots of these village level swords produced during the boxer rebellion.

22nd July 2016, 02:36 AM	#8
RSWORD Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Greensboro, NC Posts: 1,083	Hi Miguel, Thanks for sharing your examples. They are all of the period you suspect which is 19th to turn of the century. The short jian are civilian swords and of the form that was most heavily brought back by soldiers of other countries of various campaigns. I have seen an example deposited in a museum that was gifted in the early 19th century but most date to the second half of the 19th to early part of the 20th century. The quality of these vary greatly. Both in the fittings to the blades. Over the years I have seen blades that might work well as a paper opener to well forged laminated blades. I have also run across older blades mounted in these fittings. The last example you show seems to have a well forged laminated blade. You can see the Hamon along the edge and the body of the blade shows some lamination. The middle example has an unusual blade but seems to show some evidence of a Hamon and lamination. The first example posted doesn't exhibit a Hamon or laminations from what can be seen in the pictures. Closer examination might tell a different story. The dao is late 19th to early 20th century and seems to be village quality. The fullers on the blade are very uneven and sloppy and the blade looks lumpy like it hasn't been ground properly. You find lots of these village level swords produced during the boxer rebellion.