The images show what is known as a peidao, a saber intended to be worn suspended from the belt. It was a standard military sidearm of the late Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) Dynasties. These weapons are classified according to blade shape, and exhibit a wide variation in workmanship and decoration.
The blade on this one MAY be an original, I prefer to withhold a definitive judgement until a more thorough examination can be conducted. It is of pattern welded steel. There is an inserted high-carbon edge plate, and these blades are invariably heat treated in differential fashion so that the edge hardness is considerably greater than that of the spine (back). Note that smiths in China today are capable of doing work which is superficially comparable to what was done centuries ago (just as their counterparts in Japan, Indonesia, and India are doing so in similar fashion to cater to the collector market).
As regards to the mountings, I agree with Andrew. Definitely new. Having examined many hundreds of peidao over a period of decades, there are characteristics of the materials, proportions and form, and decoration of the scabbard, grip, and all metal fittings which do not correspond to historical examples. The "dress" of this saber has what I call the Hollywood-ized aesthetic which is seen on movie-prop weapons from Chinese historical dramas and martial arts films, or on the all-too-numerous fakes being peddled on eBay.
I will be glad to identify the fine points of what makes distinguishes these fittings as new, if individual members would like to email me directly. My colleague Scott Rodell and I have found that too-explicit discussion of the characteristics of newly-made swords is often picked up by some readers of online forums, and the info gets passed back to the fakesters back in Asia.
Having tracked this market for over a decade, and seeing the best of what's coming out of Indonesia, China, and India today, I note that the fakes are getting better and better. When a well-known European auction house such as Hermann Historica regularly features new keris as "late 19th--early 20th cent." and purportedly Ming bronze hand-cannon barrels which are in fact brand spanking new, it gets scary. Readers should also be aware that just because a blade is damascus, it doesn't mean that it's necessarily old. Two summers ago, I saw some beautifully forged pattern welded talwar blades, with the Delhi "parasol" armory mark, offered at the Birmingham (UK) arms fair. Their hilts, and the absurdly low prices, gave them away as repros. The salesman behind the counter was not exactly straightforward about their status as reproductions. An overly- enthusiastic buyer who has not studied and handled the real McCoy could easily be "reeled in".
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