"Sword of Goujian"

[kronckew]

emperor gou had a nice bronze jian (chinese word for straight double edged sword).

i've seen a fair number of gou style jians on the world's favourite online auction site. quite cheap too. they seem to be a favourite of the copy makers. they do not have the same alloy as the original tho, and i'd bet they didn't hammer sharpen (and work harden) the edges either. also saw a couple on a commercial auction house a few months back, they sell for less than $40 (and still do).

the chinese makers could probably get more for them if they left them polished instead of burying them in manure for a few weeks to 'age' them*. real antiques are NOT allowed to be exported from china without a LOT of paperwork & 'expediting' fees by officials. the original is of course a national treasure & others that were excavated in lesser condition would also not be sold so cheaply if authentic.

edited: did a bit of searching, found a 'new' one in polish for a tad under 200. it was listed as a copy too. saw some others listed as antiques for around a hundred, some a bit less.

caveat emptor! (or should that be caveat emperor gou)