A Trio of Chinese Swords Joins the Accidental Collection

[Philip]

Originally Posted by Lee

I can provide a more detailed image, which I have done below, but unfortunately I am ignorant of the origins of the design. A few other dao in my collection have somewhat fancier and shorter metal encasements of the scabbard tip while this one is longer and less wide.

Hopefully Philip, who wrote one of the articles I consulted, or another member may be able to give an informed answer.

A most interesting saber. The blade is definitely old, though without having it in hand I'd be hesitant to say whether late 17th, 18th, or turn of 19th. The tunkou doesn't look stylistically quite right to me, it could well be a later replacement which is something occasionally seen on these sabers when the hilt fittings have been replaced. Which is definitely the case here -- the German-silver ( a cupronickel alloy) look possibly late 19th to early 20th. The chape design is unusual but legitimate. What is really odd is the construction of the suspension system. Normally, the bands have little tabs that are riveted to the sides of the bar. On better examples, they are recessed into the sides of the bar. Here they are soldered or brazed in place. The scabbard fittings on jian, with their fixed loops for the hanging straps, are assembled the same way. But I can't recall the last time I saw this construction on a saber scabbard. The upturned ends of the suspension bar are also strange. From a functional standpoint you don't want a gap where the bar terminates, next to the scabbard because things could possibly snag there. A normal saber scabbard has the bar ending flush against the dorsal edge of the sheath. Looking at the entire set of fittings, they are definitely later than the blade but, judging from the images, don't have a "new" feel to me. If you have a pic of the tang peening mushroom on the end of the pommel, I can get a better idea of when the re-hilting likely occurred.