Eastern Tibetan or Yunnan zhibeidao
A simple piece, but with a nicely etched blade typical for the Tibetan / Sichuan borderlands.
Tibetan shortsword with pierced mounts
With characteristic pointy hairpin forged blade.
Hamon (刃文)
Japanese term for the temperline on a blade, typically achieved by differential heat treatment.
Peony karakusa tsuba
Executed in "nanban style" openwork with chiseled and gold-encrusted peonies.
Sawasa style iron guard
Unusual piece with depiction of a foreign figure.
Iron chrysanthemum tsuba
Large example with gold and silver overlay.
Unusual dragon gate guard
Asian sword guard of unknown origin, modified in Japan.
Japanese tsuba in Canton style
Also known as Kwanto-gata, with two facing dragon chasing a pearl.
The saber of Manchu Wu Songlu
A standard pattern Qing military saber, but with the rare addition of a label in Manchu.
A large Qing dàdāo
Large and heavy example with the notable Umlauff provenance.
Daruma tsuba
A peculiar tsuba with a depiction of Bodhidharma and two dragon chasing a pearl.
Wan-gata tsuba by Kunihiro
Its outer surface is decorated with interlocking swastikas and family crests.
Jīnchuān shortsword
Jinchuan aborigines sword, the Qianlong emperor's name for this type of sword.
Tūnkǒu (吞口)
Literally "swallowing mouth", a collar piece often found on Chinese blades.
Pōdāo with dragon tūnkǒu
With a large iron guard and hard wooden shaft.
Chinese crescent tipped maces
A highly unusual set of paired maces with crescent tips.
Chinese garlic mace
Called suàntóu gǔduǒ in Mandarin, with characteristic brass head.
Suàntóu gūduǒ (蒜頭骨朵)
Literally "garlic mace", the name of a mace with a bulbous head.
Jūn Huǒ Jú-made shuāng shǒudāo
Produced in the ordnance factory in Zengbu, near Guangzhou.
Jūn Huǒ Jú (軍火局)
Name of a Chinese arms factory just east of Guangzhou, active 1875 onwards.
Jūn Huǒ Jú-made saber
Produced in the ordnance factory in Zengbu, near Guangzhou.
Chinese medium size jian
A heavy piece with a substantial blade, with smooth bronze mounts.
Double shortswords with belt hook
A classic set of Chinese double swords, complete with suspension and hook.
Chinese paired shortswords
Cantonese double swords with archaic dragon design mounts.
Duǎnjiàn (短劍)
The Chinese word for a short straightsword.
Early Chinese shortsword
A classic duanjian, but of somewhat earlier manufacture than most.
Shuāngjiàn with carved scabbard
A paired jian of fushou type, with carved hardwood scabbard.
Nanako (魚子/斜子)
The Japanese name for punched, dotted surface finishes on metal.
Shakudō (赤銅)
A Japanese alloy containing copper and gold.
Rooster fight kozuka
Executed in gold and silver on a shakudō nanako base, with golden back.
Cast iron compass rose guard
A peculiar cast iron sword guard, probably from the South China Seas area.
Unusual Chinese saber
Built around an imported blade, with a human head shaped pommel.
Nanban kogai & kozuka set (futakoromono)
The only set of its type known to me in both private and museum collections.
Large Atayal lalaw sword
A particularly nice example with 120 iron bands holding the blade.
Ainu sword hilt
Made of wood, with a silver ornamental fitting of remarkable workmanship.
Ainu sword in Japanese polish
Exceedingly rare Ainu sword. Comes in an old Japanese collection box.
The Qianlong emperor's dagger from Jinchuan
In this article, we will zoom into a shortsword or dagger that was obtained from the Jinchuan campaigns of 1747-1749 and 1771-1776.
Paiwan tjakit with provenance
It was collected by Laurens Langewis, an early 20th-century ethnographer and author.
Fine Tibetan gem studded dagger
A very rare type of dagger that originates from the borderlands of Eastern Tibet and Sichuan.
Mongolian target quiver
Combining surplus Qing mounts with Mongol leatherwork.
Lóngquán (龍泉)
A town in Zhejiang province, China, known as a sword making center.
A fine Yunnan Dai dagger
With characteristic bulb pommel and silver plating on hilt and scabbard.
Golden inlaid Korean jangdo
Made of blackened copper-gold alloy, finely inlaid with poems in pure gold.
Bāguà (八卦) "Eight Trigrams"
Chinese meaning "Eight Trigrams", representing the fundamental principles of our world.
Wavy Chinese spearhead
Of a rarer form, often used for ceremonial pole-arms.
Signed húdiédāo set
Of military style with long, narrow blades and ribbed hardwood grips.
Lóngquán Daoist shuāngjiàn
A very good set of Daoist straightswords in a single scabbard. There is a lot to see here, but I will start with the blades.
Kankyûtô (貫級刀/貫首刀)
Japanese word for a samurai tool.
An Edo period kankyûtô
A double-edged samurai tool with morbid origins.