This is a repeat post that I put on a forum for Chinese swords. I thought given the SEA predilections of many people here, it might be worth getting some comments on....
I have thought for quite a while that there must be nice Chinese antiques in Indonesia, but due the political climate there that made Chinese culture essentially illegal for many years Chinese swords from Indonesia are never seen on the market.
Here is the first example I have seen. It is a typical duan jian, with an unusual replacement handle that shows it was used after the replacement. Also the blade has been cleaned in the traditional Indonesian way many times. Unfortunately this damaged the blade, but it is fascinating to see a Chinese blade looking like an old keris. There is a chance that the blade was a refit made in Indonesia, but I don't think so.
Take a look before the pictures disappear and this rare bit of history is out of the public view.
Josh
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...MEWA:IT&ih=011