Biāojú (鏢局)
Language: Mandarin Chinese
Source: Pleco dictionary. Old photos.
Full wootz kard
...and some gold.
Rajput child katar
With ganga - jamni gold koftgari
Unusual khukurī with gold grooves
With a very fine Nepalese blade, but kard-like hilt and scabbard.
A fine hanshee
Early type with very shallow notch in the blade and little flare in the pommel.
Koftgari hilted khukurī
Impressive piece, with Indian-made iron hilt with gold overlay.
Good dui chirra khukurī
Simple piece with a beautiful blade profile.
A fine mid 19th century khukurī
An understated, elegant khukuri of substantial proportions with fine layered blade.
Nepalese quill embroidery
Scabbards of antique Nepalese khora swords and khukurī knives sometimes exhibit a peculiar type of embroidery that uses quill strips from peacock feathers.
Parrot hilt wootz khanjar
With vintage silver mounted scabbard.
Ladder wootz Kurdish dagger
This unassuming dagger has one of the finest wootz blades with a tight ladder pattern.
Northern katar
with laminated blade and chiseled hilt.
Katar from Kota, Rajasthan
Indian wootz blade and remains of floral gold overlay.
Jamdhar kátári with scabbard
An archaic form of dagger that survived in Afghanistan.
Persian percussion blunderbuss
With very fine twistcore barrel.
Wide Sino-Vietnamese knife
Large bowie-type blade with prominent raised backedge.
Longquan jiàn by Wan Zi Hao
A Chinese shortsword made by a well-known Longquan maker.
Southern Taiwanese sword
A Taiwanese sword with a long blade of asymmetrical cross-section; the left side is flat and the right side has a ridge on the upper portion of the blade
All-metal Vietnamese kiem
A very rare ceremonial variety with copper scabbard inlaid with different alloys, and a brass blade.
Signed Sikh talwar, dated 1838
Of Punjabi make, inscribed inside the knuckle guard as being presented by Sukhu Singh in 1838.
West Javanese keris hilt
19th century, probably originating from Cirebon.
Headhunter chief's mandau
A fine Dayak headhunter sword with an exceptionally carved hilt.
Large Tibetan copper and silver horn
Such work was made in the Royal workshops of Lhasa.
Pair of Burmese overlaid knives
Very rare set of Burmese knives from Mindan village.
Pulasir keris hilt
A Madurese keris hilt, carved from dark hardwood in the form of a Dutch cuirassier.
Silver overlaid Chinese hook sword
Typical Chinese hook sword, with seldom-seen fine silver wire overlay.
Fine Kutch horse head shamshir
The style typical of Kutch, the execution far above what is normally seen on work from that area.
Persian painted shield
Persian steel shield with fine Qajar style painted dome.
Fine mid Qing matchlock musket
With a golden damascened lock of the Indo-Portuguese type.
Persian wootz armor set
Consisting of shield, helmet and arm protector.
Vietnamese dha in early style
Wih fine embossed silver mounts and an unusual blade with spiked tip.
Old mandau with laminated blade
The unusual blade is paired with a unique, probably also very early, hilt.
South Kalimantan parang
Of typical South Borneo workmanship, but formed like a mandau from Kutai.
Very old mandau with stars
With exceptional, well crafted and heavy blade.
Fine long glat mandau
A testament to why the Long Glat were known as expert blade makers.
Sumatran sword with gold covered hilt
A fine example, probably meant for Palembang royalty.
Indian enamel and wootz dagger
With designs of animals, often attributed to Lucknow, north India.
Yasuchika elephant tsuba
A 19th-century copy of an important cultural art object.
Small Chinese saber guard
Of pierced iron, elaborately cut with lotus petal border.
Iron nanban ship tsuba
Pierced and chiseled showing an 18th century European vessel.
Nyamba keris hilt with seal
Rare old keris handle made into a European wax seal.
Unusual Indonesian carved grip
Made of carved wood with metal inlays for eyes and mouth.
Batak bullet holder
Carved of amber-colored horn, with an ancestral face with metal inlays.
Dayak bamboo container
Carved with typically Dayak aso "dog dragon" motifs.
Qing powder flask
Southern Chinese style with birds in plum branches.
Fine Qing powder flask
Very good example with a finely carved warrior scene.
Fijian throwing club
Old 19th century piece with a nice smooth and dark patina.
Chinese export lacquer box
A nice example with unusually fine lacquerwork and a monogram in the lid.