Chinese Swordsticks

Gavin Nugent · 2nd December 2008, 01:53 AM

G'day Iliad,

Sword canes were my first love many years ago Iliad and I have studied them closely through literature and by dissecting poorer quality or damaged examples I came across. I have had a number of fine examples over the years and have made a number of period correct examples with old pieces I have sourced.
In this instance I would beg to differ with the age of these two items. The script may well say all these things and I would agree that it does but...a few years ago, these examples were very common on eBay with a large influx in numbers from mainland China.
The same sort of mass production is to be found in another style of cane that was produced in India and Pakistan in the 80's that many antique dealers succeeded in passing off as genuine old sword canes.
I will consult my reference books on the subject as these could well have been made in the image of a rare item that is within a museum or a famous collection and I will get together a few differing images of other canes both true and not.

Gav

Iliad · 2nd December 2008, 08:59 PM

I bought these via internet auction and never met the vendor in person. To the best of my recollection, he said that he had purchased these in Singapore about 30 - 40 years ago.
The blades are 4-sided and the tips are needle-sharp. I suspect that the shinier one of the two may have been cleaned at some time, hence looking newer. The shiny one is 3 cm longer than the other.
I think that I will have to accept that these did not come from the Forbidden City, but are later reproductions. Sad about that, as I had hoped that they were long-lost treasures and that museums from around the world would offer me large sums of money for them. (Sigh).
Brian (Iliad)

2nd December 2008, 01:53 AM	#1
Gavin Nugent Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 2,818	I love concealed edged weapons G'day Iliad, Sword canes were my first love many years ago Iliad and I have studied them closely through literature and by dissecting poorer quality or damaged examples I came across. I have had a number of fine examples over the years and have made a number of period correct examples with old pieces I have sourced. In this instance I would beg to differ with the age of these two items. The script may well say all these things and I would agree that it does but...a few years ago, these examples were very common on eBay with a large influx in numbers from mainland China. The same sort of mass production is to be found in another style of cane that was produced in India and Pakistan in the 80's that many antique dealers succeeded in passing off as genuine old sword canes. I will consult my reference books on the subject as these could well have been made in the image of a rare item that is within a museum or a famous collection and I will get together a few differing images of other canes both true and not. Gav Last edited by freebooter; 2nd December 2008 at 11:14 PM.

2nd December 2008, 08:59 PM	#2
Iliad Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 187	Chinese swordsticks I bought these via internet auction and never met the vendor in person. To the best of my recollection, he said that he had purchased these in Singapore about 30 - 40 years ago. The blades are 4-sided and the tips are needle-sharp. I suspect that the shinier one of the two may have been cleaned at some time, hence looking newer. The shiny one is 3 cm longer than the other. I think that I will have to accept that these did not come from the Forbidden City, but are later reproductions. Sad about that, as I had hoped that they were long-lost treasures and that museums from around the world would offer me large sums of money for them. (Sigh). Brian (Iliad)