Vietnamese guoms

[Philip]

Originally Posted by Ren Ren

In my opinion, the blade is quite typical for this part of Indochina. The decor is a stylized image of the constellations. The same or very similar ones were depicted on ancient Vietnamese flags, which, for example, were used in Nam Giao - the ceremony of sacrifice to the Earth and Sky. On Chinese blades, the stylized image of the seven stars of the Big Dipper can often be seen, but this is the first time I see it on a Vietnamese blade. And the style itself is different from the Chinese.
.

Thank you for the wonderful input so far, it adds a good deal to what we know about a field about which so little reference material exists.

On this blade, yes, the arrangement is different from the usual Chinese, but I still see seven "stars". As other readers are no doubt familiar with, the typical Chinese arrangement on double-edged blades is a simple zigzag to accommodate the overall shape of the space; on sabers you occasionally see them as inlaid dots, typically between segmented channels along the dorsal profile.

[werecow]

A friend of mine is currently on holiday in Thailand and he just sent me the picture attached to this post, taken at the National Museum in Bangkok. It's interesting to see that there are more of these around with those plates projecting from the guard.

EDIT: My friend is also interested in anything you might be able to tell us about the other swords (particularly the large ones in the back).

[Ren Ren]

The large swords in the background are called trường gươm 長劔 in Vietnamese - a long sword or a long saber. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries they were exclusively ceremonial weapons and many painted and varnished wooden models survive. Here are some pictures from this period.

[werecow]

Thanks Ren Ren.

The second one from the top in particular seems to show strong Japanese influences. Is that a correct inference?

[Ren Ren]

Quite right, werecow! Japanese influence was very strong in Vietnam and much of Indochina in the first third of the 17th century. Later, the influence also took place, but not so direct and strong.

[Ren Ren]

Originally Posted by Philip

On this blade, yes, the arrangement is different from the usual Chinese, but I still see seven "stars".

I could only find a picture of one flag with constellations. But there were more of them and they were used during various ceremonies.