#1499 Chinese Warring States sword.

josh stout · 2nd February 2019, 03:45 PM

That is an amazing bronze, and I am glad to know its provenance, because I assume every one I see is a modern fake. The patina is a wonderful blue green, and does indeed seem to have fabric incorporated into it. Could it have been a metallic thread, or do you think it is more like a fossil where the organic component has been replaced with metal oxides?

It is also nice to see the edge with a slight color difference. It seems that these were quite sophisticated with a harder bronze at the edge and softer shock absorbing bronze in the body. This technology was the conceptual foundation for harder steel edges on Chinese swords beginning in the Han. Basically it seems that as soon as the Chinese had iron, they went to massed produced folded steel with differential hardening almost instantly. The sophistication of these bronze blades provided the conceptual framework to make that possible. In their time they were second to none.

It is also interesting to note how simple and ergonomic the design is. Bronze guo and cong from the period are highly decorated.

2nd February 2019, 03:45 PM	#2
josh stout Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 407	That is an amazing bronze, and I am glad to know its provenance, because I assume every one I see is a modern fake. The patina is a wonderful blue green, and does indeed seem to have fabric incorporated into it. Could it have been a metallic thread, or do you think it is more like a fossil where the organic component has been replaced with metal oxides? It is also nice to see the edge with a slight color difference. It seems that these were quite sophisticated with a harder bronze at the edge and softer shock absorbing bronze in the body. This technology was the conceptual foundation for harder steel edges on Chinese swords beginning in the Han. Basically it seems that as soon as the Chinese had iron, they went to massed produced folded steel with differential hardening almost instantly. The sophistication of these bronze blades provided the conceptual framework to make that possible. In their time they were second to none. It is also interesting to note how simple and ergonomic the design is. Bronze guo and cong from the period are highly decorated.