Good late Qing Longquan jian
With bat-shaped guard. A very high-quality example for the time period.
Solingen blade with pata hilt
Indian gauntlet sword with German blade made in Solingen.
Bhutanese shortsword
From the P. Holstein collection, published in 1931.
Vietnamese kiếm in Chinese stye
Utilizing a Chinese guard and following the Chinese hilt design.
Rajput sosun pattah
With wootz blade, Marwari style hilt, and its original red velvet scabbard.
Sosun Pattah
With Persian wootz blade, engraved at forte with floral designs.
The O.T. Burne dha
With silver overlaid blade and silver mounts worked in repousse. With some of Burne's personal items.
Kutch shamshir for Benson
Blade of Persian shamshir form, but of Indian make. Mounts in Kutch style gilt copper.
Talwar of Mohta Bakhtawar Singh
A fine Marwari talwar presented to the Dewan (chief minister) of Bikaner in 1756 A.D.
Nayar ritual sword
An unusually ornate iteration of the design, intended for Hindu ceremonies.
South Indian pattisa
An early example, late Vijayanagara empire, with a fine wootz spatulate blade.
Paṭṭiśaḥ (पट्टिश)
Language: Sanskrit
Origin: Dhanurveda of circa 1100-800 B.C.
Boy's brass hilted patá
With a charming brass zoomorphic gauntlet with feline head.
Ottoman Turkish ribbon sword
A remarkable example of bladesmithing with a 5 row twist-core pattern that meanders over the blade.
Khanda with etched blade
A 19th-century type with an etched blade, simulating patterned steel.
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.
Afghan military saber
With an armory stamp dated Hijri 1326, corresponding to about 1908.
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.
Palembang twist-core pedang
A Palembang style sword with a fine twist-core blade and carved hardwood scabbard.
Bhutanese "churi chenm" sword
This style was worn by nobles and senior officials.
Parang beladeh / parang belabang
A curved saber from the southern part of the island of Borneo.
Duku apang
Iban (Sea Dayak) word for parang ilang, a.k.a. mandau, the Borneo headhunter's sword.
Duku
Iban (Sea Dayak) word for sword.
Talwar with wootz hilt and blade
With Persian style blade, showing Indian workmanship.
Very good sikin panjang
Its blade with very fine and complex pamor, brought out by a polish.
Jīnchuān shortsword
Jinchuan aborigines sword, the Qianlong emperor's name for this type of sword.
Jūn Huǒ Jú-made shuāng shǒudāo
Produced in the ordnance factory in Zengbu, near Guangzhou.
Jūn Huǒ Jú-made saber
Produced in the ordnance factory in Zengbu, near Guangzhou.
A Murut parapat
The sword of the Murut headhunters of northern Borneo.
A streaked lin gin
These ornate versions with hairpin forged blades were worn by local royalty.
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.
Unusual Chinese saber
Built around an imported blade, with a human head shaped pommel.
Scientific analysis of two Southeast Asian swords
Using X-ray fluorescence and radiocarbon dating.
SE Asian dha (carbon 14 dated)
In excavated condition. With XRF and radiocarbon dating results.
An old dha (carbon 14 dated)
Found in excavated condition, published with results of c-14 and XRF analysis.
The Wiasemsky Montagnard dha
Collected by a Russian prince from the hill peoples of central Vietnam in 1892.
Large Atayal lalaw sword
A particularly nice example with 120 iron bands holding the blade.
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.
An excavated dha sword
With heavy blade and copper alloy hilt and lobed guard.
Acehnese peudeueng
With Hindu style basket hilt and local blade in European style.