All-metal Vietnamese kiem
A very rare ceremonial variety with copper scabbard inlaid with different alloys, and a brass blade.Qing jiàn in later mounts
Qing period blade in very nicely made early 20th century mounts.Late Qing tuánliàn jiàn
Long yet light, with unusual flower-shaped iron guard.Large Ming tuánliàn jiàn
A large piece dating from the Ming-Qing transition period of the 17th century.Vietnamese shortsword
A short version of the Vietnamese kiếm sword with a finely carved horn hilt.Batad Ifugao hinālung
Rare double-edged shortsword of the Ifugao of northern Luzon.Good late Qing Longquan jian
With bat-shaped guard. A very high-quality example for the time period.Vietnamese kiếm in Chinese stye
Utilizing a Chinese guard and following the Chinese hilt design.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.Shuāngjiàn with carved scabbard
A paired jian of fushou type, with carved hardwood scabbard.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.A Chinese headman's sword
Of rare form with short but very heavy double-edged blade.Gim (劍)
The Cantonese word for the Chinese straightsword.A fine late Qing jian
A step above the norm in quality for this period, with nicely pierced mounts.Late Qing jian
A typical example, complete with lacquered scabbard.Late iron mounted jian
A rarer configuration, normally mounted with brass in this period. With a chrome-plated blade.Seven stars militia jian
A short, stout Chinese straightsword of a type used by village defenses across the empire.Shuāngjiàn (雙劍)
Chinese for double straightsword.Ming jian with chiseled mounts
A very early, full-length type, rarely seen with chiseled iron mounts.Matched Vietnamese kiếm pair
With carved stone handles and superb workmanship in silver and mother-of-pearl.Sǔn (榫)
Language: Mandarin Chinese
Source: Classical literature
Song kiếm (雙劍)
The Vietnamese double sword.Kiếm (劍)
The double-edged straightsword of Vietnam.Qiào kǒugū (鞘口箍)
Qing Chinese for the mouthpiece of a scabbard.Early militia jian
An early Chinese militia jiàn most likely dating from the Ming.Vietnamese double swords
A rare combination of full-length double Vietnamese swords with live blades.Tuánliàn jiàn (團練劍)
The Chinese militia jian. A simple, practical version of the Chinese straightsword.Jiàn (劍)
The Chinese straightsword.Republican period fighting jian
A very nice and complete example, circa 1920's-30's.Vietnamese straightsword
It has a narrow but sturdy blade with a springy temper.Chinese double shortswords
A good set of the first half of the 19th century, with large and rather heavy forge folded blades.Republican jian with etched blade
Description
A large and rather interesting Chinese jian dating from the Chinese Republic
Chinese sword with Qianlong reign mark
Often mistaken for true Qianlong work.A Vietnamese straightsword kiem
With a substantial, quality blade.Shuangjian with ivory grips
A deluxe set of double straightswords with carved ivory grips and gilt mounts.Ming militia sword
An honest, unpretentious fighting weapon of the Ming-Qing period.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.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.An antique Chinese practice sword
With Daoist talisman and Longquan markings.The Demon Repeller - Talisman sword
Introduction
The Chinese straightsword or jian (劍) was the side arm