Qing military rattan shield production
Translation of a page from Qing regulations that describes the production of the Qing military rattan shield.
Chinese tiger shield
A large Chinese rattan shield called tengpai, used by special front-line troops.
Gilt duanjian with foreign blade
Unusual Chinese duanjian with fine gilt mounts and a blade of non-Chinese origin.
Chinese demon head saber
Based on a Chinese military saber blade, with unusual horn demon hilt
Northern Wei shaffron
Silk horse mask from the Xianbei ruled dynasty which ruled northern China from 386 to 534 A.D.
Signed Chinese rattan shield
This one has the early, peaked form and is signed by its maker.
Polished Sino-Vietnamese dagger
A heavy Sin-Vietnamese fighting knife, with recently polished blade.
Large Chinese hunting knife
With fine blade in recent polish. With resting scabbard.
Lìngjiàn (令箭) or "Command Arrow"
A special arrow used to prove one's authority.
Lóngyuān (龍渊)
The former name of Lóngquán, a famous sword-making town in China.
Good late Qing Longquan jian
With bat-shaped guard. A very high-quality example for the time period.
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.
Sawasa style iron guard
Unusual piece with depiction of a foreign figure.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Fine Tibetan gem studded dagger
A very rare type of dagger that originates from the borderlands of Eastern Tibet and Sichuan.
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.
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.
Chinese báitóng whip
A Chinese traditional hidden striking weapon, this time executed in the "white copper" alloy.
Qing fangshi soldier's saber
A rare surviving example of the simple military version of this style.
Wàn Chéng (萬成)
Workshop name that appears on a brass halberd head.
Shuāngjiàn (雙劍)
Chinese for double straightsword.
Chinese crescent moon weapons
Unusual set of paired Chinese maces of good workmanship.