Unknow sword

smp · 10th April 2006, 01:06 PM

Yes it is true that you can find all kinf of swords from China, most of them probably fake. But i still believe that they dig up some real stuff from fields...will it end to western collectors is another thing..

I bought this sword from Shanghai,China in 2003. It just looked nice soveunier to me and i liked to bargain with that certain shop owner. It was not expensive, only few bucks., after "hard" bargain

I bought it as a fake so if its not fake is only plus.

It´s really interesting to find history of certain object. Well if that is a fake, is it copy of real word?

I think i have to take it to test to university and check whats it made of(100%). Lots of ppl thought its made of copper, dunno then.

micas · 10th April 2006, 01:51 PM

Were you a tourist in China? Did you buy it from Xiangyang market or Shanghai lao jie at YuYuan? Because I hope you didn't pay more than 40yuan for it in Shanghai.

smp · 10th April 2006, 02:31 PM

I was studying in Shanghai Uni for a while. I don´t remember or even know whrere i did buy it

we were walking around the areas and found it. I dont remember exact price i paid, but it was like few €. nothing really

micas · 10th April 2006, 02:49 PM

Well it's strange that the obvious thing to do if you bought it in China would be to ask your Chinese friends (since you were a student) instead of asking this question at an English language sword forum as if being totally clueless of its origin? And having been a student in China, you should be able to recognize if its Chinese characters or not. Something is not right.

not2sharp · 10th April 2006, 03:00 PM

All else aside; wouldn't the presence of verdigris indicate a sword of recent manufacture. Were this to be an old sword, the accumulated patina would protect against that sort of decomposition.

"Until the 19th century, verdigris was the most vibrant green pigment available and frequently used in painting. However, its lightfastness and air resistance is very low: in presence of light and air green verdigris becomes stable brown copper oxide."(Wikipedia)

n2s

VANDOO · 10th April 2006, 03:30 PM

I HAVE A SWORD JUST LIKE YOURS AND HAVE SEEN LOTS OF THEM ON EBAY. THEY ARE INTERESTING DECORATOR ITEMS AND IF YOU CAN GET THEM FOR A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF MONEY ARE COOL SOUVINEERS. UNFORTUNATELY CHINA HAS BECOME INFAMOUS FOR SELLING A $10.00 ITEM FOR .99 BUT THEN CHARGEING YOU $100.00 FOR S&H ON EBAY SO IF I SEE ITS FROM CHINA I JUST MOVE ON AND DON'T BID. YOU CAN SEARCH ON THE OLD FORUMS UNDER BRONZE AND FIND SOME POSTS, THERE IS ONE "REPLICAS CURRENTLY IN VOUGE" POSTTED 8/07/2001 THAT ADDRESSES THIS. UNFORTUNATELY SOME OF THE PICTURES ARE GONE.

smp · 10th April 2006, 04:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VANDOO

I HAVE A SWORD JUST LIKE YOURS AND HAVE SEEN LOTS OF THEM ON EBAY. THEY ARE INTERESTING DECORATOR ITEMS AND IF YOU CAN GET THEM FOR A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF MONEY ARE COOL SOUVINEERS. UNFORTUNATELY CHINA HAS BECOME INFAMOUS FOR SELLING A $10.00 ITEM FOR .99 BUT THEN CHARGEING YOU $100.00 FOR S&H ON EBAY SO IF I SEE ITS FROM CHINA I JUST MOVE ON AND DON'T BID. YOU CAN SEARCH ON THE OLD FORUMS UNDER BRONZE AND FIND SOME POSTS, THERE IS ONE "REPLICAS CURRENTLY IN VOUGE" POSTTED 8/07/2001 THAT ADDRESSES THIS. UNFORTUNATELY SOME OF THE PICTURES ARE GONE.

Thanks for you information. I will check ebay more carefully...

micas · 10th April 2006, 03:33 PM

As I understand it, there are several techniques to create a false patina. One involves burying them in the ground for a year or few; certain soil types accelerate the oxidization process. I've tried to get up close looks at the museum bronzes patina versus the patina on the tourist "antique" bronzes but for the life of me, I can never be certain.

Anyways, this is why I don't try to buy any antique bronzes for over 5usd :-)

smp · 10th April 2006, 04:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by micas

Well it's strange that the obvious thing to do if you bought it in China would be to ask your Chinese friends (since you were a student) instead of asking this question at an English language sword forum as if being totally clueless of its origin? And having been a student in China, you should be able to recognize if its Chinese characters or not. Something is not right.

hmm...all this sound strange to me. Am i guilty of something coz i havent chinese friends? Just wanted to know if someone else knows something about this sword. My opinition of 1 months Chinese language experience is that those symbols are not chinese. But this is just guessing.

Mark · 10th April 2006, 09:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smp

hmm...all this sound strange to me. Am i guilty of something coz i havent chinese friends? Just wanted to know if someone else knows something about this sword. My opinition of 1 months Chinese language experience is that those symbols are not chinese. But this is just guessing.

No, you are not even close to any violation of forum rules or etiquette, smp. I think micas is just the suspicous type. We do sometimes get people posting here "fishing" for just enough information to make an e-bay description of some questionable item sound more convincing, but I am sure that is not what is happening here.

smp · 11th April 2006, 06:48 AM

i see

well now i understand this better...well it is not going to ebay, when all information is avaible and discovered it has probably taken so much time and efforts, that few bucks would not make worth of it

10th April 2006, 01:06 PM	#1
smp Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 8	Yes it is true that you can find all kinf of swords from China, most of them probably fake. But i still believe that they dig up some real stuff from fields...will it end to western collectors is another thing.. I bought this sword from Shanghai,China in 2003. It just looked nice soveunier to me and i liked to bargain with that certain shop owner. It was not expensive, only few bucks., after "hard" bargain I bought it as a fake so if its not fake is only plus. It´s really interesting to find history of certain object. Well if that is a fake, is it copy of real word? I think i have to take it to test to university and check whats it made of(100%). Lots of ppl thought its made of copper, dunno then.

10th April 2006, 01:51 PM	#2
micas Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 30	Were you a tourist in China? Did you buy it from Xiangyang market or Shanghai lao jie at YuYuan? Because I hope you didn't pay more than 40yuan for it in Shanghai.

10th April 2006, 02:31 PM	#3
smp Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 8	I was studying in Shanghai Uni for a while. I don´t remember or even know whrere i did buy it we were walking around the areas and found it. I dont remember exact price i paid, but it was like few €. nothing really

10th April 2006, 02:49 PM	#4
micas Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 30	Well it's strange that the obvious thing to do if you bought it in China would be to ask your Chinese friends (since you were a student) instead of asking this question at an English language sword forum as if being totally clueless of its origin? And having been a student in China, you should be able to recognize if its Chinese characters or not. Something is not right.

10th April 2006, 03:00 PM	#5
not2sharp Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 210	All else aside; wouldn't the presence of verdigris indicate a sword of recent manufacture. Were this to be an old sword, the accumulated patina would protect against that sort of decomposition. "Until the 19th century, verdigris was the most vibrant green pigment available and frequently used in painting. However, its lightfastness and air resistance is very low: in presence of light and air green verdigris becomes stable brown copper oxide."(Wikipedia) n2s

10th April 2006, 03:30 PM	#6
VANDOO (deceased) Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: OKLAHOMA, USA Posts: 3,138	I HAVE A SWORD JUST LIKE YOURS AND HAVE SEEN LOTS OF THEM ON EBAY. THEY ARE INTERESTING DECORATOR ITEMS AND IF YOU CAN GET THEM FOR A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF MONEY ARE COOL SOUVINEERS. UNFORTUNATELY CHINA HAS BECOME INFAMOUS FOR SELLING A $10.00 ITEM FOR .99 BUT THEN CHARGEING YOU $100.00 FOR S&H ON EBAY SO IF I SEE ITS FROM CHINA I JUST MOVE ON AND DON'T BID. YOU CAN SEARCH ON THE OLD FORUMS UNDER BRONZE AND FIND SOME POSTS, THERE IS ONE "REPLICAS CURRENTLY IN VOUGE" POSTTED 8/07/2001 THAT ADDRESSES THIS. UNFORTUNATELY SOME OF THE PICTURES ARE GONE.

10th April 2006, 03:33 PM	#8
micas Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 30	As I understand it, there are several techniques to create a false patina. One involves burying them in the ground for a year or few; certain soil types accelerate the oxidization process. I've tried to get up close looks at the museum bronzes patina versus the patina on the tourist "antique" bronzes but for the life of me, I can never be certain. Anyways, this is why I don't try to buy any antique bronzes for over 5usd :-)

11th April 2006, 06:48 AM	#11
smp Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 8	i see well now i understand this better...well it is not going to ebay, when all information is avaible and discovered it has probably taken so much time and efforts, that few bucks would not make worth of it