Kayamkulam sword
Of the Malabar coast, South India.Silver mounted Sumatran saber
With inscription that reads: Raja Pagaruyung or "ruler of Pagaruyung".Shuangjian with ivory grips
A deluxe set of double straightswords with carved ivory grips and gilt mounts.Chinese twistcore presentation saber
An unusually large presentation saber in the style of high-end Chinese military sabers.Chinese saber with "naginata-hi"
A Chinese waist saber or yaodao / peidao of the first half of the 18th century.
A Chinese scholar's sword
Introduction
The Chinese straightsword or jiàn (劍) was traditionally the side-arm
Ming militia sword
An honest, unpretentious fighting weapon of the Ming-Qing period.Chinese saber with U-grooves
With twist-core steel and of early liuyedao form. Probably 17th century.Chinese saber with segmented grooves
With openwork brass mounts in early imperial style.Large Chinese Daoist sword
Chiseled in the blade is “勅今” which could either mean "imperial order" or "Daoist magic command".A Vietnamese kiem
A very good Vietnamese ceremonial kiem of the Nguyen dynasty.A talwar with "lehria" chevron blade
With chevron patterned blade of alternating types of steel.Very fine Sikin Panjang
With triple tiered golden crown with enamel decor.Antique Miaodao
Miaodao simply being a more recent name for the wodao.A large Tibetan sword (dpa'dam)
Description
A large Tibetan sword or dpa'dam, representing its classic form.
A Burmese dha with openwork handle
Made of a single piece of ivory, with a kneeling figure in its base.A rare and early Tibetan sword
With beautiful pierced ironwork scabbard.An ivory hilted kiem
The grip made of a single piece, worked in high relief.Large jian with saber guard
Built around an excellent sanmei blade.Of geese and willows
The differences between 雁毛刀 yanmaodao (goose-quill saber) and 柳葉刀 liuyedao ("willow-leaf sa
Qing dynasty saber mounts, fangshi & yuanshi
Among sabers of the Qing dynasty, we encounter two basic types of mountings:
A typology of Chinese sabers
Introduction
Historical references on Chinese saber types are scarce, and the information they provide scan
Horn hilted Vietnamese officer's saber
An unusual Vietnamese officer saber of the 19th century, with an all-horn hilt.A Sinhalese kasthāné
An impressively large kasthāné, dating from the 18th century.An antique Chinese practice sword
With Daoist talisman and Longquan markings.A notable Bhutanese sword
Its silver scabbard richly decorated in churi chenm style or "wavy pattern".Ancient Cham sword
In excavated condition. Probably 15th-17th century.The Demon Repeller - Talisman sword
Introduction
The Chinese straightsword or jian (劍) was the side arm of the Ch
Chinese saber with yatağan style blade
An extremely rare and possibly unique type of Chinese officer's saber, or peidao, of the 18th century.Broad 17th century Chinese saber
Yet another type that I had not yet seen before.16th century Vietnamese saber
Showing the strong Japanese influence on Vietnamese sword making of the time.Exceptional Vietnamese saber
With mountings of meticulously worked copper with silver overlaysMing dandao
With rare raised backedge.Edged Weapons of the Green Standard Army
The Green Standard Army was a large standing army of the Qing dynasty.
An unusual dha
An unusual dha with features of various cultures.All-metal ceremonial guom
With captured French blade, ground down to fit.Rare Chinese twistcore saber
Background
Most Chinese swords and sabers are made with a hard high carbon steel edge plate sandwich
Antique Vietnamese arms
Vietnam produced some of the finest mother-of-pearl inlays, seen on for example on the scabbards of ceremonial swords and sabers.A signed Vietnamese fighting saber
Presented in this article is a somewhat rare example of a purely practical Vietnamese fighting saber,
A Chinese woyaodao
Introduction
The ridged and facetted blade shape that is so well known nowadays from Japane
A peudeueng peusangan
From the Aceh region, described locally as peudeueng peusangan with a "hulu meu apet" or Indian styled basket hilt.An exceptional khyber sword
The sword of the tribes living in and near the Khyber pass.Chinese long sabers of the Qing dynasty
In the late Ming dynasty, Chinese coasts were raided by Japanese pirates -mockingly called 倭寇 wokou or "Dwar