Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

Philip · 15th February 2020, 02:24 AM

Thanks for sharing this one Josh, and good to see you on the forum. You can call this a Eurasian hybrid concept but entirely made in a Chinese workshop, not a composite of hilt and blade of separate origins.

The blade fuller, which stops a good deal short of the front of the guard, on a forte which lacks a ricasso is a variation on a theme seen over and over on Ming and Qingf saber blades, regardless of profile or length.

Last year a customer sent me a late Qing or revolution / warlord era saber with unit markings for cleaning and repair. A somewhat longer blade than yours, fullered in a manner common for the previous two centuries, with a guard that echoed the design of yours, except that the dorsal prong extended a couple inches further forward, and the knucklebow was a partial one and did not join the pommel -- analogous to the L shaped knuckleguards on some Polish hussar sabers ca 1600. The dorsal prong or arm would certainly be handy for locking an opponent's blade. Altogether an atypical form of hilt in the context of Chinese sabers, but examination of the separated components during the course of repair indicated that guard and blade tang mated perfectly and the accumulated rust and patina on surfaces showed that the hilt had been together for a long time. In retrospect, I regret not taking a picture of it.

I like the way that the corrosion on the pommel and tang mushroom are undisturbed on your example.

15th February 2020, 02:24 AM	#2
Philip Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: California Posts: 1,036	Thanks for sharing this one Josh, and good to see you on the forum. You can call this a Eurasian hybrid concept but entirely made in a Chinese workshop, not a composite of hilt and blade of separate origins. The blade fuller, which stops a good deal short of the front of the guard, on a forte which lacks a ricasso is a variation on a theme seen over and over on Ming and Qingf saber blades, regardless of profile or length. Last year a customer sent me a late Qing or revolution / warlord era saber with unit markings for cleaning and repair. A somewhat longer blade than yours, fullered in a manner common for the previous two centuries, with a guard that echoed the design of yours, except that the dorsal prong extended a couple inches further forward, and the knucklebow was a partial one and did not join the pommel -- analogous to the L shaped knuckleguards on some Polish hussar sabers ca 1600. The dorsal prong or arm would certainly be handy for locking an opponent's blade. Altogether an atypical form of hilt in the context of Chinese sabers, but examination of the separated components during the course of repair indicated that guard and blade tang mated perfectly and the accumulated rust and patina on surfaces showed that the hilt had been together for a long time. In retrospect, I regret not taking a picture of it. I like the way that the corrosion on the pommel and tang mushroom are undisturbed on your example.