Could this be Chinese ?

Peter Dekker · 18th January 2016, 03:05 PM

Sorry for chipping in so late, but the filed back of the blade is a common feature on Chinese knives and swords. I have the feeling it was somewhat more popular in the north. You see it a lot on larger niuweidao that were brought back from the boxer rebellion. I've had one with exactly the same dips in-between the perpendicular grooves. Usually, these are slightly shallower. I've even had an 18th century yanmaodao with the feature, indicating the stylistic feature goes back a while. I don't really know the meaning of these decorations, but some Chinese collectors have pointed out the likeness to bamboo, which traditionally stands for strength and resilience, properties you'd want from a knife or sword. It sounds like a pretty good explanation.

Apart from the back of the blade, I agree everything looks very Mongolian with some heavy Chinese influence like the stylized cloud fittings and the double lozenge on one side. (A pun for "victory") Beijing had a rather large Mongolian population during the Qing who lived in the Inner City under the Mongolian banners. There's a chance it was made there to suit the tastes of local Mongolian bannermen.

18th January 2016, 03:05 PM	#9
Peter Dekker Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Kingdom of the Netherlands Posts: 64	Sorry for chipping in so late, but the filed back of the blade is a common feature on Chinese knives and swords. I have the feeling it was somewhat more popular in the north. You see it a lot on larger niuweidao that were brought back from the boxer rebellion. I've had one with exactly the same dips in-between the perpendicular grooves. Usually, these are slightly shallower. I've even had an 18th century yanmaodao with the feature, indicating the stylistic feature goes back a while. I don't really know the meaning of these decorations, but some Chinese collectors have pointed out the likeness to bamboo, which traditionally stands for strength and resilience, properties you'd want from a knife or sword. It sounds like a pretty good explanation. Apart from the back of the blade, I agree everything looks very Mongolian with some heavy Chinese influence like the stylized cloud fittings and the double lozenge on one side. (A pun for "victory") Beijing had a rather large Mongolian population during the Qing who lived in the Inner City under the Mongolian banners. There's a chance it was made there to suit the tastes of local Mongolian bannermen.